Total Drama: That's the Spirit!
by Freedom Fighter
Summary: Year three in the "Fantasy" series! The cast of "Total Drama: Revenge of the Island" takes center stage! Mike, Cameron, Brick, and Princess Zoey search for the spirits of classic TD characters as they attempt to use them to stop an intergalactic space war! As usual, expect video game parodies and references, as well as everyone's favorite crazy redhead, Izzy, popping up everywhere!
1. Konnichiwa Pussycat

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

Welcome to year three of the "Total Drama Fantasy" series! A little late this year because Cartoon Network didn't air season four of _Total Drama_ until this past summer, but hey, better than never!

That being said, if you've never read the previous two installments (2010's "Fantasy" and 2011's "VGP"), don't sweat it! Any events referencing anything from those are explained in full in this third series... though I believe the callbacks don't start 'til next week's episode. Just like _Revenge of the Island_ was a reset for the cartoon series itself, this is a reset in that primarily the new characters are featured. Unlike the show, though, not only will all of the 'classic' cast members make cameos, all of them play an integral part of this year's plot.

Some more than others...

So sit back, grab your favorite snack, and enjoy the ride! It's junior 'year,' even though this'll make you feel like you're freshmen...

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**Final Note:** Watch out for random Izzy!

* * *

Inside a large, hexagonal-shaped room, a battle was being waged...

"Please don't hurt me," squeaked Cameron.

He pulled down the trigger, firing a laser beam from his rifle. It flew across the room and reached its target, hitting Zoey right in the stomach. A white '8' appeared above her.

"Oof!" she grunted, taking a step backward.

Zoey looked up and saw an ecstatic Cameron jumping up and down with glee.

"I... actually didn't miss! Woo-hoo!"

Cameron's teammates, Mike and Brick, were whispering to each other as they discussed their next plan of attack. They looked to have Zoey right where they wanted her. That was, until Mike saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Zoey was pulling out a white bottle.

"Is that... Crystal Juice?"

Zoey drank the contents of the bottle in one gulp. A green '50' materialized over her head as a result.

"I needed that," Zoey said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Mike raised his rifle, preparing to fire on her.

"Take this, **YOU WITCH!**"

He fired, but Zoey dodged the shot.

"Oh, **COME ON!**" he grumbled.

Brick took his turn.

"For the nation of Hatchet!" Brick declared.

Brick's laser hit Zoey, causing 13 points of damage. Cameron was prepared for his turn, but Zoey was a bit faster.

"I'm not a pushover!" the redhead shouted.

Zoey pulled out a three-inch marble with the number '19' on it. Mike gasped upon seeing it.

"Is... is that what I think it is?"

Zoey did not answer his question. Instead, she threw it hard at the floor. The marble shattered, and out of its remains came a giant cloud of white smoke, which started to fill the room. As the boys became blinded, they heard a female voice - not Zoey's - in the air.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 19, ready to summon!]_

"Would a pushover do... **THIS?**" yelled Zoey.

The smoke began to clear. In its place was a ghostly apparition. A 300-pound one with blonde hair, a shirt with a maple leaf on it, and cargo shorts. Again, the unfamiliar female voice spoke up, identifying the spectre.

_[Owen, the Party Guy! He is a spirit! Do not wet your pants!]_

"Too late," Cameron said meekly in response.

"I am Owen!" stated the 'classic' Total Drama spirit. "Hear me roar! **MEOW!**"

_[Owen's Attacks... Number 1! Feeding Time.]_

"So hungry," groaned Owen. "I wonder what you taste like."

Owen's giant tongue shot out of his mouth, heading straight towards Mike.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH HH!**"

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 1 [27]: Konnichiwa Pussycat (09.24.12)  
-**

A few hours earlier...

Laser fire spread across space as two fleets of fighters waged war. Half of the ships were painted red with blue trim, while the other half were blue with red trim. Numbers on both sides were beginning to dwindle, as fighter after fighter was shot down, with almost all of them exploding in balls of fire.

Somewhere, in the midst of this space dogfight, was a grouping of five blue fighters, flying in a V-shaped formation. They were making a path for some of the other squadrons, shooting down any enemy fighters heading in their direction while the team made a beeline towards an opposing battle cruiser on the frontline.

"High and tight," said Mike, the squadron leader. "And watch your twelve, three, nine, six, and everything in-between!"

To his left, and flying slightly behind him, was Cameron, who was in a panic.

"I can't do this! The twenty-thousand simulators didn't prepare me for this!"

On the other side of Mike was Brick, who got on the radio to try and calm Cameron down.

"Hang in there! Stay in formation, and everything will be alright!"

**KABOOM!**

Disaster struck, as the unnamed pilot in the fighter to Cameron's left exploded after taking a direct hit to the engine.

"No, no, **NO!**" screamed Cameron.

The pilot to Brick's right was panicking even more than Cameron, as he suddenly pulled out of formation, banking hard right in an attempt to turn around and head back to where they had come from. But he never completed the maneuver, as he, too, was shot down.

**BANG! KRA-KA-BOOM!**

"No, no, **NO!**" Cameron screamed a second time. "**WE'RE GONNA DIE!**"

"Not on my watch!" Mike shouted.

He got on the radio and started radioing back to the command center.

"Squadron 7's down two! This is 7-1, we're pulling out and returning to base, over!"

Without even waiting for a return response, Mike began banking to the left. Brick and Cameron did the same, doing so and staying in formation even though the latter struggled to keep his sanity amidst all of the laser fire flying around them.

Suddenly, they got a response from their commanding officer.

"Negative!" responded Chef Hatchet over the radio. "No one pulls out 'til the battle's over!"

"You don't understand, sir," Mike radioed back. "I've got two down and a third who's losing it as we speak!"

"I don't care! Re-engage the enemy, or else!"

By this point, the squadron's plane had completed their 180-degree turn and were now heading towards their own fighters.

"Or else what?"

"Mike," Brick spoke up, "you don't want to push him too much."

"**TURN THOSE SUCKAS AROUND**," commanded Chef, "**OR YOU'LL BE SHOT OUT OF THE SKY!**"

"He wouldn't dare!" Cameron said defiantly, before adding, in a meek tone, "Would he?"

"We're about to find out!" Mike shouted.

The threesome was coming up fast on a battle cruiser. The bay launch doors were open, and Mike could see the on-board docking station. He steered toward it, and Brick and Cameron followed him. As they approached the landing strip, they were fired upon by two enemy fighters from their left. Thankfully, none of their shots hit. To the trio's relief, the cruiser did not fire upon them.

Mike, Brick, and even Cameron landed safely in the docking bay, bringing their fighter planes to a complete stop.

"Ha!" Mike proclaimed with defiance. "I knew our own men wouldn't fire on us!"

Mike opened the cockpit and prepared to climb out. He then heard several laser rifles whirr into firing position. He stopped and noticed that all of their fighters had been surrounded by soldiers in red uniforms.

"Oh no!" cried Cameron. "We landed on an enemy cruiser!"

"What makes you say that, good buddy?" asked Mike, not seeing opposing commander Chris McLean's head painted onto every wall of the bay.

"Just a hunch."

* * *

The door of the ship's holding cell was slammed shut. The guard walked away, leaving Mike, Brick, and Cameron to sit and mope over their situation, having forced to do so on the cold, metal floor because there was nothing else in the cell with them.

"I'm going to die!" cried Cameron, tears streaming from his eyes. "I'm **TOTALLY** going to die here!"

Mike slid over next to Cameron to comfort him.

"We're not going to die," Mike told him. "It's against intergalactic code to kill prisoners of war without reason! Isn't that right, Brick?"

He was hoping his more-hardened friend would agree, but unfortunately, Brick was acting as if he was resigned to his fate.

"A good soldier never talks," he said to himself aloud. "I will take all my military secrets to the grave. A good soldier never talks. I will take all my military secrets to the grave."

"Um, okay?"

Brick kept repeating those two sentences over and over again, while Cameron wailed in grief even louder.

"Looks like it's going to be up to me to get us out of here," Mike declared.

Mike paced back and forth in the cell. His right hand stroked his chin continuously as he tried to think of an idea. After a minute, it came to him.

"That's it!"

Brick and Cameron both went silent upon hearing Mike's boast. They watched as their teammate cleared his throat, grabbed the bars, and started yelling.

"**HELP! WE NEED A DOCTOR! MY FRIEND'S WATER BROKE! THE BABY'S COMING! AAAHHH!**"

"Um," Brick interjected, getting up from the ground, "I believe only girls can give birth. Unless you're secretly a seahorse."

Brick then eyed Mike up and down.

"You aren't a seahorse, are you?"

"On the contrary," objected Cameron, "male seahorses don't actually give birth. They just hold onto a female's eggs and fertilizes them in his belly until they hatch. It's a common misconception."

"Nobody cares, Four-Eyes!" someone yelled from afar.

Cameron and Brick joined Mike at the bars, as they all looked to their left and saw an orange-haired teen in a red military uniform smugly trot their way.

"It's Vice Lieutenant Admiral Petty Spaceman Scott of the Red Ribbon Army!" Mike said really fast.

"What are you blabbing about?" asked Scott. "I'm part of the United Forces of the McLean Empire army!"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. Same thing."

"What do you want from us?" queried Brick. "If it's military secrets you want, you're not getting them from me!"

Scott chuckled.

"As interesting as that sounds, I have other plans for you three dorks!"

"Plans?" questioned Cameron, shaking in fear. "Wh-wh-wh-what kind of plans?"

Scott turned his back to Mike and Brick to talk to Cameron, face-to-face.

"Nothing much. Do you know what happens when you shove someone out an airlock and into outer space, without a spacesuit?"

Cameron gulped, then nodded.

"That! That is what will happen to you. After din-"

Scott stopped, feeling someone touching him on the hip. He spun around quickly. Whomever had touched him had pulled away, but he quickly suspected Mike, who was whistling innocently and avoiding direct eye contact. He then slid his left hand down to his own waist, searching for the keys that usually hung from his belt. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the keys still there.

He then gave Mike a smirk.

"Nice try, Pointy, but you've got to get up pretty early in the morning to catch me off guard!"

"Oh," gasped Mike. "You are so right. I guess I should set my alarm clock to 0400 hours, like a less-normal person!"

"Joke all you want, but after dinner, it's out with the space trash the three of you go!"

Scott laughed maniacally as he walked away, heading back the way he came. The trio looked at his keying, which had a number of keys, along with a '_Konnichiwa, Pussycat'_ charm.

"Never thought of Scott as a '_Konnichiwa, Pussycat_' fan," commented Cameron.

Mike smirked as he pulled out a second keying, this one that had a number of keys as well as a '_Scott_' nametag charm.

"He's not."

Brick saluted his teammate. "Good work on the ol' switcheroo, soldier!"

"That's amazing!" said an exuberant Cameron. "You switched keys without getting caught? And... you're a '_Konnichiwa, Pussycat_' fan?"

"Yes," Mike admitted reluctantly. "But only 'cause it impresses girls, okay?"

Mike started trying out each of the keys on their cell door's lock, one at a time. Eventually, he found the right one, allowing them to escape from the cell.

Now outside the cell, it was time for the trio to now find a way off of the cruiser.

"Follow me," Mike said.

He took the lead, with the other two following without question. They wandered up the hallway and then back down, after coming across a dead end the first way. They eventually arrived at a steel door that had a small, circular viewing window in the center. Mike held up a finger to his mouth, signaling for Cameron and Brick to be silent, before peering through the door to see what was on the other side.

* * *

Scott was talking to a lone guard in the hallway.

"No one goes in or out of there unless I say so. Got it?"

The guard nodded. Scott walked away and turned around the next corner, disappearing from sight. The guard then took his place, sitting in a chair placed next to the door.

* * *

Mike moved away from the door and whispered to his teammates.

"I've got a plan."

He handed the keys to Cameron.

"Cameron, slowly unlock the door but don't open it. Once you've done, I'll get the guard's attention. When I give you the signal, Brick, charge the door! Got it?"

They nodded in compliance. Everyone then got into position, with Cameron began trying different keys in the lock.

"Who designed this anyway?" Cameron asked. "It's not smart to put the lock on the inside of a door."

Once he found the right key, Cameron took a deep breath. He then slowly turned it to his left, unlocking the door. Finished with his task, he stepped off to the side. That was the signal for Mike to go into action. He got up right against the glass circular window, blocking it so that the guard could not see inside.

* * *

"Yoo hoo! Oh, Mister Guard!"

Upon hearing Mike's voice, the guard got up and out of his chair. He went to talk to Mike.

"What do you want?"

Suddenly, the guard realized something with amiss.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be in a cell?"

Hearing that, Mike gave the signal.

"**NOW!**"

* * *

Brick let out a primal scream as he charged at the door. It burst open as he rammed his shoulder into it...

* * *

Not expecting it, the guard was knocked backwards, landing on the ground on his butt. Brick immediately ran over to him, spun around, and got the guard into a sleeper hold. Mike and Cameron rushed out of the corridor and watched as the guard tried to reach for his walkie talkie, clipped to his belt.

But he would never reach it. Brick's sleeper hold was too much, and he succumbed to the maneuver.

"Good job, everyone," Mike said.

He and Cameron then closed the corridor door while Brick put the guard back in his seat, sitting upright, albeit slumping a bit.

"Now what?" Brick asked.

"We get off this ship, that's what!" replied Mike.

"How?" questioned Cameron. "The hangar's surely to be heavily guarded."

_[Check the map.]_

"Check the map? Great idea, Brick!"

Brick looked at Cameron, confused, then back at Mike.

"Uh, that wasn't me, sir."

"Huh? Well, then... Cam?"

Cameron shook his head.

_[Check the map.]_

"There it is again! Sounds like a girl!"

All three of them looked around, searching for the source. But there was no one around.

"I'm sure it's a girl's voice. But... I don't see anyone else."

Mike then suddenly decided to search the unconscious guard. On him, he found a map detailing all of the rooms on the cruiser.

"Look at this! The escape pods are in this port-side chamber, separate from the main docking bay! And they're probably unguarded!"

Mike folded up the map after memorizing the directions.

"Let's move out!"

* * *

After dodging a number of guards and avoiding detection, the three guys made it to where the escape pods were stored. Cameron and Mike ran ahead to find the control panel, while Brick closed the door and kept watch for any enemy soldiers.

"Looks like there's only one," Cameron stated aloud, after finding the other bays empty.

Cameron opened the inner airlock, giving Mike access to the pod, which was shaped like Chris McLean's head. Mike pressed a button on the cheek, which opened the mouth, which was the entrance into the pod.

"All clear," Mike said, after checking out the inside.

"Same," Brick said, coming up behind Cameron.

Brick and Mike gathered around Cameron as he typed away at the panel.

"We're all set. Except..."

"Except?"

Cameron sighed. "The inner airlock has to be closed before the outer airlock can be opened."

Mike and Brick looked at the doors.

"Brick," Mike told him, "start that baby up."

"Aye aye, sir!"

Brick ran to the pod.

"Cam, what's the key sequence to close the doors?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Brick and Cameron were inside the pod. Brick had managed to get prep it to standby mode, ready for the engine to start at the press of a button. Cameron got on the ship's intercom, activating the outer speaker so that Mike can hear him.

"We're all set! Mike, you ready?"

Mike opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by the sound of a loud, screeching alarm.

"I better be! They know we've flown the coop!"

Mike looked down at the control panel's screen. The prompt asked for the launch clearance code. He inputted it, saying each letter aloud as he did.

"D... o... u... c... h... e!"

Mike stopped to think after realizing what he spelled. He then snickered.

"Heh. Figures."

The inner airlock doors started to close, one coming down from the ceiling and the other from the floor. Mike sprinted for the pod bay. He leapt into the air and went into slow motion as he tried to dive in-between the doors.

_[Press X!]_

Mike began to pass through the opening, but the doors were closing fast. Would they come down on and squish his legs?

**SLAM!**

Mike looked over his shoulder and saw that he had made it through unscathed.

"Whew. That was close."

"Mike!" Cameron said over the speaker. "Get in!"

Mike obliged. Just in time, too, as the outer airlock doors, which were actually on the floor underneath the pod, began to slide open.

* * *

Once inside, Mike hopped in the seat behind Brick and buckled his seatbelt. A few seconds later, the trio felt themselves go weightless as the pod fell through the door and started plummeting downward.

"I was right!" Cameron squeaked. "I'm going to die! I'm going to **TOTALLY** die now!"

"Brick! Start the engine!"

A prompt on the control panel was flashing, telling Brick to press the S3 button to start the engine.

"S3!"

He found it and pressed it once. Nothing happened.

"Uh, Brick?"

"It's not working!"

Brick pressed it again. And again. And again. And again.

"I think we're going down, sir."

Suddenly, the screen prompts were replaced by a three-by-three pattern of Izzy's spinning head.

"Unauthorized access!" Izzy exclaimed. "To protect this authentic Chris pod from theft, all controls have been disabled! Also, I'm a spinning head! **WHEEEEEEE!**"

Mike, Cameron, and Brick looked at each other, then back at Izzy's head on the panel, and finally, back at each other.

"Ya know," Mike admitted, "I just remembered that that girl is crazy!"

"Totally," Cameron and Brick nodded in agreement.

They started to scream in fear, as their life flashed before their eyes.

"**AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!**"

Suddenly, a planet came into view. The pod started to get warm as it became caught in its gravity.

"A planet!" Mike pointed out. "We're saved!"

"What?" asked Brick.

"Well, it's better than floating aimlessly in space forever. I mean, now that we're caught in the planet's gravity, we'll get dragged down to the surface. And since we can't control our descent, we'll smash into the ground, most likely shattering this pod upon contact, leaving nothing but a smoking crater and very little, if any, to send back to our next of kin, eliminating any chance of reincarnation, and... oh, wait, that's definitely not better."

They abruptly resumed screaming.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

***** To be continued... *****


	2. We Came When We Heard Girls Screaming

Mike slowly came to, first opening his eyes, then his nostrils. He could see and smell smoke coming from a portion of the wreckage from the escape pod.

"C-Cam? B-Brick?"

He tried to get up, but suddenly he screamed in excruciating pain. He felt something heavy resting on him from the waist down, preventing him from moving. But he could not move his head to confirm it, because his neck felt as if it was trying to rip his head from the rest of his body at the slightest movement.

"Cam? Brick?"

He called for his squadmates again, but no answer. Suddenly, he felt himself start to slip back into unconsciousness. As that was happening, he heard footsteps. Somebody had heard his screams and was coming to help.

The person in question was wearing a military uniform, but it was neither red nor blue, the colors of the opposing armies in the war. It was yellow. Despite that, Mike could tell that the laser rifle the soldier was holding was military-issue. And it was pointed in the direction of his head. The person approached carefully, not taking their eyes off of Mike.

As the person came closer, Mike started seeing making out the soldier's face. The person had red hair, with some of it in a ponytail, black face paint streaks beneath the eyes, small blue spherical earrings, and light red lipstick.

The soldier... was a girl.

"Well," Mike mumbled loudly, "at least my killer's a cutie!"

And with that, Mike's eyes closed as he fell unconscious once more, believing that the redheaded soldier was the last thing he would ever see.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

Thanks to all of you who read the first episode and came back for the second! For those fanboys turned off by the sausage fest at the start, two of the new girls make their first appearance in this episode - one of them in the cold open above!

I also stretched the truth about getting into the backstory of what happened to the classic characters in this episode, as I stated last time. I didn't have time to get into it here, so you'll see that - well, the relevant bits for now, anyway - in next week's installment.

On with the fic!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 2 [28]: We Came When We Heard Girls Screaming (10.01.12)  
-**

Castle Wawanakwa...

"Brick! I... I think he's waking up!"

Mike opened his eyes very cautiously, unsure of what was going on. His vision became clear, and he saw Cameron and Brick leaning over his body; both of them looked very happy to see that their squadron leader was alive.

"He's alive!" screamed Cameron. "**HE'S ALIVE!**"

Cameron wrapped his arms around Mike and gave him a hug of relief.

"Ow, ow, **OW!**" yelped Mike.

Cameron pulled away just as quickly as he had gone in, being scared off by Mike's shouts.

"What was that?" Brick asked, curious.

"Dunno," Cameron replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Usually, I'm the one who's hurting after a hug. Even ones I've initiated!"

The nerd then gasped, as he came to realization.

"Maybe, thanks to the crash, we've all gotten superpowers! You know, like in the comic books!"

"Comic books?" Brick scratched his head. "What's a comic book?"

"I must've gained the power of super strength!" Cameron continued, ignoring his friend's question. "Quick, Brick, let me punch you!"

"Are you sure, little buddy?"

Cameron clenched his right fist...

"As sure as unicorns can only be white!"

...and took a swing right at Brick's stomach. Cameron's fist hit it, then stopped. A few seconds later, Cameron pulled back and started yelping in pain, with his right hand now pulsating red and swelling up quickly.

"Eep!"

And with that, Cameron fainted.

"Hmmm," Brick said, looking downwards at his fallen friend, "I guess unicorns can be all sorts of colors. Oh, and you don't have super powers."

But someone else had a different theory.

"Super powers? If this was some sort of fantasy, maybe..."

Mike's ears wiggled, recognizing the voice almost instantly. But then he recalled what the girl who the voice belonged to was going to do to him.

"**BRICK!**" Mike yelled. "Restrain that girl! She's trying to kill us!"

Mike waited for Brick to obey his command, but he just let the girl walk up and stop next to her.

"Not to be mutinous, sir, but she is not an enemy combatant!"

"I assure you," the girl said, stepping into the light to expose her to Mike, "I come in peace!"

Now in clear view, Mike did recognize her as the girl from before. The red hair, with some done up in a ponytail. The blue, spherical earrings adoring her ears. And... the absence of face paint? Not to mention that now she was dressed in a sleeveless red royal gown, which fit her a little loosely, not really showing off any curves.

Well, aside from the ones at the top, straight into Mike's line of sight.

"Umm, you know it's impolite to stare?"

Mike snapped out of it, seeing that she had caught him eyeing her chest, and quickly turned away.

"You..." Mike began, his face showing a little redness under his eyes, "you looked different when you tried to kill me yesterday. You always approach a crash site wielding military-grade laser rifles?"

"When my planet is under constant siege from falling debris from that silly galactic war you two mega-universes are having up there, yes! Yes, I do!"

Mike had turned back to face the redhead, but upon doing so, he could not help but stare at her again. This time, though, he had enough conscience of mind to keep his head up, looking right at her face.

"She was a cutie when she tried to kill me," Mike thought to himself, "but now that she's not trying to off us, she's a total **BABE**! Okay, Mike, calm down... you didn't make a good first impression, but she's still in the room! There's still time!"

Mike coughed to get her attention.

"I've been a little rude. Allow me to make it up by introduce me and my crew. I am..."

"...Squadron Leader and Third Space Lieutenant Mike of the Hatchet Republic Federation Army."

Mike seemed confused. "How?"

But she continued. "Big guy behind me is Fourth Space Lieutenant Brick. The little guy passed out on my bedroom floor? Little Space Ass Cameron."

"**HEY! **Don't call Cam an ass!"

Brick whispered something into Mike's ear. Mike's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, right, Little Space Ass is the lowest enlisted rank. Forgot 'bout that. But how do you know all that?"

"It's on the back of your uniforms."

She flipped over the unconscious Cameron. The back of his uniform indeed read 'Little Space Ass Cameron.'

"I did not know that!"

Mike tried to twist around to see if his rank and name were on the back of his uniform. But there were two problems: one, upon attempting to do so, he felt an excruciating pain in between his chest and stomach, and two, he was wearing nothing but his space-issued boxer briefs. Periwinkle-colored, for the curious.

"The reason your friend hurt you when he hugged you," the girl explained, "is that you have a few cracked ribs. I managed to heal you to the point where you're no longer in any danger of having any of them break apart from your ribcage, but I still recommend six-to-eight weeks to recuperate, to add to the three days you've already spent here."

"**WAIT! **I was in a coma for three whole days? And no one thought to wake me?"

Brick cut in to explain. "The princess diagnosed that you weren't in any real danger..."

"**YOU'RE A PRINCESS?!**"

"Yes," the girl replied. "I was getting around to that part. Ahem... my name is Princess Zoey, monarch and sole ruler of the planet known as Wawanakwa!"

"Wawanakwa? As in the backwoods hick of a planet east of the Great Space Trash Asteroid Belt? That poor excuse of a pla-"

Zoey was not responding well to having her home planet being insulted by an off-worlder, and the look on her face signified that she was about to explode.

"Blowing it, man, **BLOWING IT!**" Mike's inner self screamed at him.

"W-w-what I meant to say, princess, is..."

But she had no intention of giving him a chance to apologize.

"I want you out of my castle and off my planet by nightfall!"

With that, Zoey spun around and stomped out of the room.

"Zoey, wait!"

Mike jumped up from the bed, which he only just realized was a cold, rectangular piece of wood supported by four leg posts, and felt himself wanting to scream bloody murder at the pain his ribs were giving him. Brick reached over to help his commanding officer, but he held up his hand to stop him. Mike, under his own power, managed to make his way to a conveniently-placed wheelchair about five feet away from the bed.

"Try and get Cam up," Mike told Brick. "I'm going after the princess."

Brick nodded and began trying to wake Cameron. Mike wheeled himself out of the room.

* * *

A few minutes later...

"Princess?" Mike called out, hoping his voice would coax her into appearing. "Princess? C'mon, I'm sorry for calling your planet bad things!"

Continuing to wheel himself around the castle halls, with no idea of where he had been or where he was going, Mike eventually found himself at a door. It was labeled 'Z-Chamber.'

"I wonder what's in here."

He pressed a red button, which opened the door. He started wheeling himself inside, but barely had one wheel in when he had to stop and stare in astonishment at what he was seeing. There were two girls in the room. To Mike's left was Princess Zoey. To his right was a blonde-haired girl whom he did not recognize. She was dressed like a cowgirl, complete with a three-gallon hat, a deerskin unzipped vest, a pink halter top, brown jean tight pants, and brown boots with three-inch heels.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" screeched Zoey. "I can't give it up! It's the last link I have to the legend!"

"'Legend?'" Mike thought to himself. "What's she talking about?"

"Well," the blonde responded, "you know there's only one way to settle this!"

"And what if I refuse, Dakota? Stealing it from me is obviously stealing!"

Dakota smirked. "Does it matter? The people are ready to revolt after you've done nothing to keep that stupid space war from wreaking havoc on our people, our crops, our... everything! You've got days left as ruler, if you're lucky. Days!"

The cowgirl pulled out what looked to be a six-shooter pistol, modified to fire laser beams instead of bullets. She took off the safety, then aimed it at Zoey's heart.

"Nothing personal, hon. That bauble's plenty valuable, and what Dakota wants, Dakota gets!"

She pulled the trigger, firing one short laser pulse Zoey's way. Seeing it head towards the princess, Mike furiously wheeled his way over to intercept it.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**"

Mike got there just in the nick of time. He turned his body towards Zoey, taking the pulse shot in the upper part of his back, just under his right shoulder cuff.

"What the hey-hey?" questioned Dakota.

"What are you doing?" asked Zoey, as Mike looked up at her after taking the shot.

"That... that didn't hurt at all," squeaked Mike, who was using all of his willpower at that moment to keep from bursting out in tears.

"So that riff-raff is what's left of your royal guard?" Dakota snickered. "Pathetic."

Zoey looked at Mike.

"Please, I'm begging you! Get out of here! I don't need your help handling her!"

But Mike interpreted it as...

"Please, I'm at wit's end! I need you! Save me from that witch, and I'm yours!"

Mike smiled and gave Zoey a playful wink.

"I got it, Princess Zoey!"

Zoey thought that meant that Mike was going to leave. So imagine her surprise when he spun around and turned his wheelchair to face Dakota.

"I'm not letting you hurt Zoey! Or take whatever this treasure is that you want!"

Dakota gave Mike a once-over from head to toe, sizing up her opponent.

"You're in the way! You... you don't even have a rifle to fight with!"

"**MIKE! CATCH!**"

Mike glanced over his shoulder and saw that the princess was tossing him a rifle, one of several in a secret compartment in the wall. After seeing Mike catch it, Zoey also took one for herself before closing the panel up.

"A C-397!" exclaimed Mike, identifying the rifle in his hands. "Awesome!"

Using the rifle's one-button charge function, he had it ready to fire in an instant, and was ready to use it to blast Dakota. Seeing that she was clearly out-lasered, Dakota switched tasks.

"Oh, dear! A real gentleman would never hurt a lady!"

Upon hearing that, Mike began to have second thoughts. After a few seconds, he lowered his rifle.

"Mike, no!" shouted Zoey.

* * *

"It's a trick!" Zoey exclaimed.

Mike saw Dakota pull something small out of her jacket pocket. At first, he thought he was screwed, as the blonde winded up her arm to throw whatever it was she had taken out. But, to his surprise, instead of her throwing it at him, she threw it at the ground.

"**HUH?**"

If that confused Mike, then he was not ready for what came next, as a white smoke appeared and quickly expanded throughout the room, making it difficult for him to see Dakota... and for Zoey to see either of them. Things got even weirder when Mike heard a third girl's voice fill the air.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 22, ready to summon!]_

"You think I'm all show," shouted Dakota, "but I can tell you're no match for me!"

The smoke started to clear. In its place stood a female apparition, one with orange-red hair which was wearing a green top and a light-shaded skirt wrapped around her waist, tied in a knot at one hip to keep it from falling. But, like Zoey, Mike had seen this girl before, too.

Well, her head, anyway.

"It's the girl from the escape pod's anti-theft system!"

The airy voice properly identified the mystery girl for Mike.

_[Izzy, the Psycho Head Beast! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Ha ha!" laughed Izzy. "Izzy's ready to pounce!"

"How did you summon a ghost?" questioned Mike, demanding an answer from Dakota. "Are you some sort of witch?"

"Witch?" said Dakota in response. "As if I'd be caught dead wearing all black. And the pointy hat? My popularity and charisma would take a nosedive if I put that on!"

_[Izzy's Attacks... Number 1! Dizzy Punch.]_

"Wait, who's saying that? And did you say dizzy punch?"

Izzy flew in Mike's direction. Zoey shouted out a warning.

"**MIKE, LOOK OUT!**"

Izzy reached Mike before he knew, and she proceeded to... bite down on the back of his skull?

"**OW! **How is that a dizzy punch?"

Izzy giggled, then flew upwards and through the roof of the chamber, leaving the battle. Dazed and confused by the bite, Mike seemed lost as to what to do. Zoey took her turn.

"Eat laser!"

Zoey fired, with her shot ending up hitting Dakota in the left hip.

"Eek!" Dakota grunted, as a white '14' appeared above her.

_[Mike may be confused.]_

Mike aimed his rifle to fire at Dakota, but before pulling the trigger, he turned to his left... and hit Zoey instead!

"Ack!" she winced, taking '8' damage.

Dakota ran forward and kicked Zoey in the right shin, using the side of her boot. That resulted in Zoey losing another '6' life points.

_[Mike may be confused.]_

Mike raised his rifle and fired. This time, he did hit Dakota, inflicting '25' points.

"Eek!"

It was Zoey's turn once more.

_[Helios]_

Zoey's entire body was engulfed in a topless, transparent, light blue cylinder. Sparkles rose up from the ground, making their way to the top of the polygon. They all gathered at the top. Once they were all there, they all fell on Zoey all at once. In doing so, a green '5' appeared above her head.

"I needed that," Zoey said afterwards.

Back to Dakota, who again charged forward. This time, she went after Mike. Unfortunately, he moved his leg out of the way, dodging the boot kick.

"Ugh!" she grunted. "You're not supposed to dodge!"

Zoey was up. She pulled out a marble, one with the number '18' on it. She threw it at the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 18, ready to summon!]_

"There's a time for being nice," Zoey proclaimed, "and a time to... not!"

Out of the marble materialized yet another classic 'Total Drama' character. This one, another girl, was muscular, had 10-pound dumbbells in each hand, which she was currently using to do arm curls, and a scowl on her face.

_[Eva, the Female Bully! She is a spirit! Do not wet your pants!]_

Eva spun around and glared at her summoner, Zoey.

"**HOW DARE YOU SUMMON ME DURING MY WORKOUT!**"

Zoey was scared of the spirit, but despite that, she still needed her assistance. She issued a command, which the 'air voice' girl stated aloud.

_[Eva's Attacks... Number 1! The Growl.]_

Eva flew over to Dakota. She growled loudly at the blonde girl, as if she were a mountain lion.

_[Dakota has been inflicted with the Fear status.]_

Eva then left, in the same manner Izzy had. Mike stepped forward to take his turn.

_[Mike is no longer confused.]_

Mike lined up for another shot at Dakota.

"See ya!"

Dakota was hit, taking another 25 points of damage. The blonde girl was dumbfounded.

"I... lost?"

_[Mike received 50 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Zoey received 50 EXP.  
Zoey leveled up!  
Party received 400 C for winning!  
Party received Cowgirl Jacket!]_

* * *

Dakota let her laser pistol slip out of her hand and fall to the ground. She then dropped to her knees, still in disbelief over the result of the battle.

"I... lost? But I rarely ever lose! Especially to someone as weak as you!"

Zoey walked over to her, extending her hand out as a friendly gesture. Dakota frowned, but accepted it and let the princess pull her back up to her feet.

"This isn't how it's supposed to go down!" whined Dakota. "I'm a star! A dueling prodigy! A living, breathing Samus Aran! And the true princess of Wawanakwa!"

"Sorry, Dakota," Zoey told her, "but as long as I'm still breathing, I'm not giving up this crown!"

Dakota pulled her hand away, then leaned over to pick her pistol off of the ground. She pocketed it into her pants and then started walking for the exit.

"Um, hello! Forgetting something?"

Dakota groaned. She had been hoping that, in the heat of the moment, Zoey would have forgotten. But alas.

She reached back into her pocket and pulled out marble '22.' She underhand-tossed it to Zoey, who caught it with ease.

"Don't get too attached! Next time, I'll get that back! And I **WILL **claim that crown and become the most popular girl on the planet, too!"

With that, Dakota headed out. On the way, she almost ran into Brick and Cameron. But she just pushed her way between the two of them, causing Cameron to stumble and almost fall to the ground. Either unaware or ignorant of almost knocking him down, Dakota kept on walking, eventually making her way out of the castle. The two boys shrugged, not sure who Dakota was or what was her deal, then continued walking over to Mike and Zoey.

"Squadron Leader Mike!" exclaimed Cameron. "Glad to see you're alright!"

Brick nodded. "We came when we heard girls screaming! Of course, sir, if one of those voices was yours, I swear on my honor that I won't tell anyone!"

"What? **NO!**" Mike shouted, in a high-pitched squeal.

"No, sir, seriously, I will take that secret to the grave!"

"That wasn't me screaming, Brick!"

"Whatever," Cameron interrupted. "The important thing is that, despite your condition, you got into a battle with that blonde girl, and you came out without any more broken bones. Well done, sir!"

"Well, Cam, I couldn't have done it alone..."

He hinted over to Zoey, who had been ignoring them and was petting the marble Dakota had given her for winning the battle. Of course, upon noticing the boys staring at her and her act, the princess quickly stopped and hid the marble behind her back.

"Oh, yeah, the battle," she spoke up, deflecting focus off of her herself. "You handled yourself better than I thought. Dakota's a tough nut to crack, y'know."

She walked over and started to gaze into Mike's eyes.

"Perhaps I misjudged you. I was hasty in wanting you gone. Perhaps you and your squad can help me."

Mike blushed. "I can help you anyway you want, Princess! Even onto a date!"

Zoey giggled. "Slow down there, Romeo! One step at a time!"

"Oh, right!"

Zoey spun around for a second to take care of something, giving Mike an opportunity to flash a confident smile at his friends. Brick and Cameron responded by giving him thumbs up in return. Of course, they dropped their arms when Zoey turned back around.

"I guess after everything that happened in that battle that I should explain what's up with my planet, the lack of faith of my people in me, and these marbles that have ghosts in them."

"**GHOSTS?**" screamed Cameron, who leaped up into Brick's arms. "**WHERE?**"

Brick frowned in disappointment, seeing a fellow soldier shaking in fright so much. Zoey headed towards the chamber's exit, but she motioned for the guys to follow her.

"We should talk somewhere less... cold."

***** To be continued... *****


	3. Doooooooooooooodged

The doors whooshed open, and Scott walked onto the bridge. The soldiers working there continued going about their jobs, piloting the ship and keeping all necessary functions active. There was not an active battle going on around them, as both sides had temporarily ceased fire for some reason.

"Vice Lieutenant Admiral Petty Spaceman Scott!" the communications officer bellowed from across the room. "Incoming transmission for Super Special Commander McLean, sir!"

"Great," Scott mumbled sarcastically under his breath, "big head's ready to ram me in the backside."

He coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, out!"

All of the officers got up from their seats and headed for the bridge exit, save for the communications officer, who activated the big screen virtual monitor and opened up a program to allow a video feed to appear. Only then did she get up and leave.

But not before Scott stopped her, grabbing the blue-haired, dark-skinned woman by the arm.

"What do you say, toots? After this, you wanna become part of the Million Mile-High Club?"

The women frowned, pulled loose from Scott, and promptly gave him a hard slap across the face.

"I'm married!"

She then stomped out, angry. But not as angry as Scott was.

"Well, excuse me Mrs. I-Wear-Uniforms-Two-Sizes-Too-Small! I thought you were 16!"

"Ya know," interrupted Chris, appearing on the screen as the bridge doors whooshed closed after the women exited, "being a womanizer isn't in your job description. Besides, it's weird unless you're **ACTUALLY **hitting on someone your age!"

"But... but... you won't even **LET **me..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, spoiler alert! You never know who might be watching!"

Scott turned around and glared at you.

"You damn, dirty spies, you!"

"Okay, Scott, enough with breaking the fourth wall!"

Scott spun back to face his commander.

"I heard you had captured three enemy combatants and then **LET THEM ESCAPE!**"

"Um... no."

"What, you're just gonna lie blatantly to my face? This isn't a reality show, **THIS IS WAR!**"

"But... I thought..."

"At least tell me you know where they escaped to."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck, then twiddled his thumbs, indicating he did not.

"Well, why are you still wasting my intergalactic minutes? **FIND THEM!**"

With that, Chris slammed his fist down, ending the transmission in the process. Scott gritted his teeth as he started thinking of what he would do to Mike and his squad if he caught up to them.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

This is the last of the introductory chapters. The action and comedy start picking up with this installment, so thanks for sticking around! Things are definitely going up from here, as more and more characters get introduced!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 3 [29]: Doooooooooooooogded (10.08.12)  
-**

Mike slid the rice paper door to his left and was immediately greeted by a generous steam cloud. He stepped through it, making sure to close the door behind him, and made his way towards the hot spring.

"Hi, guys!" Mike exclaimed, waving hello at his friends.

Brick and Cameron both waved back; they were already at ease in the naturally-heated outdoor pool, located behind Castle Wawanakwa. Mike was about to step in when he noticed that both of his friends were not wearing anything... well, at least from what he could see, as both of their waists were below the surface of the water.

"Say, are we supposed to be..."

Brick reached into the water and pulled out a portion of the towel wrapped around his lower body, just enough for Mike to see. The spiky-haired boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"For a minute there, I thought we were supposed to be au naturel."

Mike then proceeded to make sure the towel around his waist was tied snugly before getting into the water.

"Ooh, that's a little hot there..."

He eased his way in, letting his body gradually adjust to the water's temperature. Once he was knee-deep, he made his way over to Cameron and sat down beside him.

"Man," Mike said, sighing. "Of all the planets we crash landed on, I'm glad we're on one that has a hot spring."

"You said it," said Cameron, in agreement.

"Zoey's got it good," Brick thought aloud. "Being a princess, living in a palace, getting to end your days soaking in a nice... hot... spring..."

Brick's speech slowed at those last few words, as his mind began to wonder. Mike started doing the same. Both of their faces started becoming red, and it was not because of the hot water they were in.

"Zoey... in virtually nothing..."

Both of them imagined Zoey walking in, wearing nothing but a towel tightly wrapped around her body that left very little to the imagination.

Unfortunately, Cameron had to ruin their fun, because he was seeing the vision too.

"**WHY DO YOU WANT TO SEE HER LIKE THAT?**"

That snapped his friends back to reality. Cameron calmed himself down, and then continued.

"My mom always says that you're never supposed to see anyone else completely in the buff. You know, unless, you're married. Or you're 25."

Mike draped his arm around Cameron and pulled him close.

"Dude, one, we're all naked under these towels right now, so, and no offense, but I don't think your mom's logic is sound..."

"**AAAAHHHH!**" screamed Cameron, uncomfortable with that revelation.

"And two, live a little! I know you've been sheltered most of your life, but girls are wonderful, beautiful beings! Both to talk to **AND **to look at."

"Still," Brick interrupted, "I kinda agree with the little dude. Don't these kind of situations lead to her screaming at the top of her lungs, followed by us getting left with stinging hand prints on our faces?"

Mike grumbled. "Brick, you're supposed to be on my side! Besides, this is a hot spring! **A HOT SPRING!** You expect her to come walking out that door wearing anything more **THAN **a towel?"

Mike emphasized the word 'door' by pointing at it, just in time to see a silhouette appear in it. The boys could easily tell it was Zoey, as her thin arm reached for the end of the door to slide it open.

"I'm too sensitive to get slapped!" Cameron shouted, before ducking his head under the water to hide himself.

Brick pulled out a piece of old parchment and a quill, and started writing on it, even as he continued to sit waist-deep in water.

"If you're reading this," he said aloud as he wrote it, "then you'll know that I was a proud soldier with a bright future, that happened to be struck down in his prime..."

"**BEING OVERDRAMATIC MUCH?**" screamed Mike.

The door slid open, and Zoey stepped out. The steam made it hard at first for Mike to see Zoey's body completely, even as she turned around to close the door behind her.

"Oh, guyyyyyyyys..." she said, in a particularly suggestive tone.

The steamy fog lifted as Zoey approached the water, and Mike and Brick got their first look at her...

...dressed from head-to-toe in her yellow military uniform.

"...what are you doing in my hot springs?" Zoey finished, now in a more confused tone of voice.

To which Mike answered, in pained anguish and disappointment...

"**OH, COME ON!**"

* * *

Some time later, Zoey was leading the boys, now back in their own military uniforms, through the castle corridors and to the F-Chamber. Cameron, for some reason, was alternating between chugging down water from a plastic bottle and spitting it out.

"I said I'm sorry, man," Brick apologized to him.

"I appreciate you saving my life after I nearly accidentally drowned myself," Cameron said in response, "but why did you have to be the one to give me CPR?"

"Uh, the princess wasn't certified. I am."

"That's not the point!"

"We're here," Zoey said, interrupting them.

They had arrived at the entrance to the F-Chamber. Zoey turned herself sideways and then leaned into the scanning sensor off to the side, letting the top of her head press against it.

[Hair print recognized! Welcome to the F-Chamber, princess!]

The door opened, and Zoey led them in. Inside, the room was immediately lit up by a fire igniting in the fireplace and all the lights in the room turned on as well. The boys were stunned to see a room comparable to one you would see in a high-end log cabin. Animal heads were mounted on the walls, several bearskin rugs were on the floor, and a skeleton was taped to a chair in the corner. The boys looked uneasy as they turned to Zoey, looking for an explanation to all of this.

"Uh... it was already here when I bought the place?"

The boys thought about it for a second, and then...

"Makes sense," Mike replied, with all three boys nodding in acceptance.

"This is what I meant when I wanted to go someplace warmer," Zoey clarified, as she walked towards the fireplace.

"Well, you could've been a bit clearer!"

"Well, I thought you three were smart!"

The boys all gasped. Zoey realized her mistake and quickly apologized.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it! I'm just reading from the script, honest!"

"Well, ma'am," Brick spoke up, "seeing as how we're already halfway through this chapter, may I suggest we just get to the backstory?"

"I suppose..."

The four of them took a seat near the fireplace. Brick and Cameron sat on one side, on the couch, while across from them, Mike and Zoey shared the loveseat. Once they were all comfortable, Zoey began talking...

"So I guess I should start about two years ago, when all of this mess really began..."

* * *

[In a quaint village, whose name is too long and Japanese to pronounce so the author decided to just call it Toronto, two friends decided to go on a quest...]

Trent and Cody high-fived each other.

[...along with a girl whose father refused to let her return home until she got married.]

Gwen popped up between the two boys. They run off for a second and then return. Trent offered her a bouquet of flowers, while Cody a box of chocolates. Gwen frowned.

[Their journey was filled with peril and adventure.]

In one scene, Trent and Cody were seen trying to roll a 600-pound Owen, in a princess' gown, no less, out of cage after being fed a ton of hot dogs. In another, Duncan was seen fake-gagging with Gwen in reaction to Lindsay, who was dressed as Ke$ha, sang on stage behind them. A third had Courtney berating the group even as a zombified DJ was trying to bite her on the arm. A fourth had Bridgette being assaulted by Izzy the giant octopus in the ocean as Gwen watched from a nearby raft. A fifth had Tyler posing for the cover of 'Playtoon Magazine,' his whole body exposed to the world save for his private parts, which he kept covered up by holding a small, planted cactus between them and the camera shooting him. Lastly, Geoff hosted a TD-version of 'Mario Party' between Trent, Cody, Duncan, and Gwen, in which the winner would officially lay claim to Gwen's heart.

[In the end, Cody won, getting the chance to pork Gwen. Wait, we can say 'pork' in this? Okay, yes, he got to pork her.]

Cody and Gwen waved goodbye to all of the other characters as they entered the former's house, even as Trent bawled his eyes out, Duncan was unsheathing a knife from his pocket, and Sierra had tied a noose around her neck.

[But before he could, something happened...]

There was a bright flash of white light that enveloped the entire cast. When it faded, everyone was gone.

[24 teenagers disappeared without a trace.]

* * *

A bunch of interns were shown a week later, searching for the missing teens.

[One search party was sent out to find them...]

But very few of them were actively looking around the disappearance site, as most of them either goofed around, had idle chit-chat, or, in one case, picked up a knife - Duncan's knife - off of the ground and use it to stab someone in the head...

...which was actually a head of cabbage that another intern happening to be holding.

"Hey!" he complained. "You killed my lunch!"

* * *

[And then another...]

A group of beavers were seen wandering around the area, doing absolutely nothing.

* * *

[And another...]

The main cast of 'Stoked' was now doing the search, though for some reason they were all dressed in orange prison uniforms.

"You just **HAD **to pull down that officer's pants!" growled Fin.

"That's not my fault!" argued Reef. "Johnny shouldn't have **DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGDED**!"

* * *

[The search was eventually abandoned. That is, until one day about a month ago...]

Dakota and Princess Zoey, both dressed like jungle explorers, were pushing their way through some deep brush when they came upon a clearing. In this clearing, the ground was 85 percent sand and 15 percent grass. But at the center, sitting on a flat rock face, was a white marble.

"You!" Dakota pointed at Zoey. "Get it!"

"Why do I have to get it?" whined Zoey. "Besides, I'm the princess! You have to do what I say!"

"Your argument is inva- inva- inva- it's wrong, okay?"

"And how's that?"

"'Cause I'm Dakota! And I'm stinking rich!"

Zoey sighed. "Guess there's only one way to settle this."

The redhead pulled out a gold coin. On one side was a side-profile shot of her head, while on the other side, there was the castle. She flipped the coin to determine who would retrieve the bauble.

It landed on its side.

"Best two-out-of-three?" Dakota asked.

Zoey rolled her eyes, then grabbed Dakota and pulled her along, having decided they should both go for it. They ended up reaching it with no problem, with Zoey being the one to squat down and pick it up.

"Okay."

"**EEEEEEK!**"

"What, Dakota? You gonna complain that you didn't get it?"

"No... **QUICKSAND!**"

Zoey looked down and saw that she and Dakota had stepped into quicksand. And they were knee-deep before she had even noticed it. Zoey wound up her arm and threw the marble to edge of the pit, where it landed safely in the grass.

* * *

Back in the present...

"The rich snob and the princess were never heard from ever again," Zoey said, "but at least the marble was now in a safe place where anyone could reach it!"

Mike raised his hand.

"Um, Zo? About the princess..."

"**THEY WERE NEVER HEARD FROM EVER AGAIN!**"

"Yes, ma'am, whatever you say, ma'am!"

* * *

[A research team ended up finding that marble, and a couple more along the way as well! They quickly went about analyzing them...]

The team, made up of the stated-dead-but-actually-still-alive Princess Zoey and Dakota, as well as two other people - a guy and a third girl - who stood back in the darkness so their identities remained a mystery, at least for now, were seen gathering around a microscope and a computer.

Suddenly, Zoey was holding a printout, and all four of them were in shock over the findings that were written on it.

[It turns out that the spirits of 'classic' 24 were encased in these marbles. One each, for a total of 24 marbles. We didn't know how they got in there, or if what was in them were the actual spirits, or just data representations of the missing teens. But before we could figure out how to free them...]

Dakota was seen laughing maniacally as she took the three that they had found, snatched them, and ran out of the laboratory... which was actually the L-Chamber of Princess Zoey's castle.

[Dakota had to be a butt and stole them, thinking that they had some monetary value.]

Zoey then pointed out the door, ordering the two silhouetted figures to go after the blonde heiress.

[I sent the others to track them down, but... they never came back.]

* * *

"Never ever?" asked Cameron.

"Never ever," replied Zoey, sadly. "In fact, I haven't seen or heard about that the third girl since! It's like she disappeared off of the face of Wawanakwa! Oh, and the galaxy."

"But what about the guy?" questioned Brick. "Is he AWOL too? Or MIA? Or DOA?"

"No. Well, sort of. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think he's some big shot in one of those stupid space armies."

"Hmmmm..." said Mike, rubbing his chin as he visibly thought aloud. "I wonder if we know this guy."

Suddenly, the door to the F-Chamber slammed the doors open. The foursome spun around and was stunned to see Scott standing there, with a smirk there.

"Ah," he said. "Never thought I'd be in this dump again."

"Man," chuckled Mike, as he looked at Zoey. "You should really fire your guards. Anyone and everyone just walks in here, don't they?"

"Ugh," grumbled Zoey. "They're... they're all on vacation."

"They sure picked a swell time!" screamed Cameron, who then jumped behind the couch to hide.

Zoey got up from the loveseat and trotted over to Scott, with a scowl on her face.

"Never thought I'd see you again, **TRAITOR!**"

Scott chuckled as Zoey stopped about arm's length from him.

"Such harsh words, **EX-GIRLFRIEND!**"

Mike jumped out of his seat upon hearing that.

"**EX-GIRLFRIEND? EX-GIRLFRIEND? ZOEY, WHEN THE HECK WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME YOU WERE ONCE DATING THE SCUM OF THE MCLEAN ARMY? ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE DATING?**"

"Hello, not actually dating, so didn't think that was relevant, **MIKE!**"

"Now, now," Scott interrupted. "No need to fight. I'm not here to get back with the princess."

Mike breathed a sigh of relief.

"Though I did take her cherry..."

"**WHAT?**" screamed Mike.

"In your dreams, maybe!" shot back Zoey, defiantly.

"Anyway," Scott said, changing the subject, "I originally came to claim that marble that you took from our old comrade, Dakota."

"You know about that already? Wow, even with the postal service underfunded, news travels fast."

"Yes. And now that I know whoever possesses all 24 spirits will gain the power to control the universe..."

"Control the universe?" interrupted Brick.

"Another thing you kept secret from us?" growled Mike. "What other juicy tidbits are you keeping secret from us, Zo? You gonna tell us you're actually a **DUDE**?"

"If you want the two of us to be a thing, Mike," Zoey shouted back, "you're not helping your case!"

"Don't worry about 'Spiky,'" Scott said to Zoey about Mike. "They were prisoners on my ship who escaped. And I've been told to bring them back, dead or alive. Preferably dead, but whatever."

"We're not going back!" Mike shouted.

"I'm glad you said that. Now I can kill you without any guilt."

Mike, Cameron, and Brick walked over and surrounded Zoey, in a protective formation.

"I have no beef with you, Princess Zoey, so long as you hand over the marble. But if you help those losers, you're dragging your entire planet into our intergalactic war! And that will be the final nail in your monarchy coffin! Mwa ha ha ha ha!"

* * *

Brick and Cameron were seen getting ready for a battle, while Scott waited patiently for Zoey's decision. Zoey had stepped off to the side, giving Mike a chance to talk to her while she debated her options.

"You can't give him that marble," Mike told her. "With that kind of power, the McLean Empire will easily win the war!"

"I don't care about your stupid war," Zoey said. "But I hate him even more."

She thought for a second before making her decision.

"Okay. I want to help."

"Good. We could use it."

_[Zoey has joined your party.]_

Zoey reached into seemingly nowhere and pulled out a gift-wrapped box. She handed it to Mike, who accepted it without debate.

"These might help."

Mike proceeded to open it.

_[Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Shirt.  
Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Pants.  
Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Jacket.]_

"You should probably equip those to your party," suggested Zoey.

Mike motioned as if he was going to, but instead he talked to Zoey again.

"When you're ready to fight Scott," Zoey said, "just talk to him. Of course, since you don't have any experience in battling with Marble Spirits, perhaps you want me to give you a tutorial first? Yes? No?"

Mike thought about it, then answered.

"No."

Zoey went quiet, so Mike approached Scott.

"So the princess is on your side? Fine... I'll kill all of you!"

* * *

Zoey led off the battle.

_[Helios]_

She used the spell on herself, healing '5' health even though she was at full strength. Scott was next.

_[Sharp Shooter]_

Scott's laser rifle started glowing blue. He fired it at Mike. A '28' appeared above him. He then fainted on the spot.

[Game Over!]

Brick started screaming for his fallen comrade.

"Mike? Mike? **MIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!**"

***** To be continued... *****


	4. Tentacle in Mouth!

[Continue from last save point? Yes/No

Yes.]

Zoey reached into seemingly nowhere and pulled out a gift-wrapped box. She handed it to Mike, who accepted it without debate.

"These might help."

Mike proceeded to open it.

_[Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Shirt.  
Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Pants.  
Mike received Wawanakwa Royal Jacket.]_

"You should probably equip those to your party," suggested Zoey.

Mike motioned to do so. He pulled up a menu and equipped the outfits. Suddenly, the Wawanakwa Royal Shirt, Pants, and Jacket all materialized on Cameron, Brick, and Mike, respectively. The 'armor' was all yellow, which made some odd clashes with their blue military uniforms.

"Could be worse," said Mike, shrugging his shoulders. "We could be dressed like furries."

"Wait 'til we get to Chilly Corona Chasm," Zoey said, under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing!"

Mike thought about talking to Zoey again, but instead he decided to go ahead and talk to Scott.

"So the princess is on your side? Fine... I'll kill all of you!"

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

So, fourth episode of the season. Veterans of the series probably think they know what's going to happen... but do they really think it will? Also, more new characters make their season debut, including a number of fan favorites!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 4 [30]: Tentacle in Mouth! (10.15.12)  
-**

Zoey led off the battle by raising her laser rifle, one that was smaller than any of the guys' ones, and fired a shot at Scott. It did '6' damage.

"Ha!" laughed Scott. "Is that all you got?"

_[Sharp Shooter]_

Scott's laser rifle started glowing blue. He fired it at Cameron. A '38' appeared above him. He then fainted on the spot.

"Cameron's down!" stated Brick, matter-of-factly.

"Be careful, Mike," warned Zoey. "If you go down, the battle's lost."

With that advice, Mike took his turn. He took a shot at Scott, causing 8 points of damage. Brick did the same, hitting Scott for 11 points more.

"If someone has been knocked out," explained Zoey, "they won't receive any experience from the battle."

She then pulled out a green bottle labeled Strawberry Sauce. She threw it at Cameron's limp body. It broke over his head, allowing the contents to spill out all over him. Seconds later, Cameron got to his feet.

"**THAT'S **how you bring someone back to life?" shouted Cameron.

"Hold up there," Mike cut in. "No breaking character."

Cameron huffed and then tried again.

"I'm alive again! Thanks!"

Scott ran up to Cameron. He spun his weapon around and hit Cameron in the nose with the butt of his rifle.

"Ow!" whined Cameron, as a '9' appeared above his head.

Mike and Brick took their turns, injuring Scott for a combined 19 points.

"Now it's on!" threatened Scott. "It's on like Donkey Kong!"

Zoey groaned.

"Whatever, Red! You laughed at it the first time!"

"I'm so taking you off my Christmas card list!"

For Zoey's turn, she took out a marble with an unreadable number on it, and tossed it at the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 03, ready to summon!]_

"There's a time for being nice," Zoey proclaimed, "and a time to... not!"

Out of this marble emerged a fan-favorite, the spirit of goth girl Gwen!

_[Gwen, the Loner! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine," Gwen deadpanned sarcastically.

"Oh, I love her!" professed Zoey.

_[Gwen's Attacks... Number 1! The Glare.]_

Gwen turned to Scott and glared at him. And glared at him. And glared at him. And glared at him.

And then she flew away.

"Darn," grumbled Zoey. "Didn't work!"

Cameron aimed his rifle and fired at Scott. The McLean flunky took '5' points of damage off of it.

"You should've been on my side, Princess Immadorka!" shouted Scott.

He then proceeded to summon his own spirit, tossing a marble at the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 11, ready to summon!]_

"Nothing like letting a pretty girl do all your work!"

Scott snickered as a blonde in a wetsuit appeared, along with a surfboard.

_[Bridgette, the Surfer Girl! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"**NO!**" she screamed. "Not now! **NOT **the fourth episode!"

"What's she talking about?" asked Cameron.

"Shut up and do your job!" shouted Scott.

_[Bridgette's Attacks... Number 1! Squid Tosser.]_

"I'm sorry about this!" Bridgette apologized in advance.

She then produced a metal bucket, out of which she flung a small octopus. It landed right in Mike's face, using its tentacles to wrap around his head.

"Mmf!" he gasped, as he tried to pull the creature from his face.

Zoey blew a sigh of relief. "Whew! For a minute there, I was sure she was going to throw that at m-"

She never finished her sentence, as a second squid landed on her face. Brick and Cameron also got an octopus thrown in their faces, for good measure.

"Tentacle in mouth!" gagged Cameron. "Tentacle in mouth!"

"Sorry, sorry, really sorry!" apologized Bridgette once more.

She clapped her hands twice. The octopus stopped what they were doing and climbed up to the top of their victim's respective heads. They spun around and then jumped upwards, up at Bridgette.

"**EEK!**"

She flew off through the roof, with the four octopus right behind her. Meanwhile, as a result of the attacks, Mike, Zoey, Brick, and Cameron each were dealt '10,' '8,' '5,' and '10' points of damage, respectively.

Mike got the taste of octopus out of his mouth, and then took his turn, by pulling out another one of the marbles his team had. He, too, tossed it at the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 19, ready to summon!]_

"Going for broke!" shouted Mike.

The smoke cleared, and Owen emerged, ready to join the battle.

_[Owen, the Party Guy! He is a spirit! Do not wet your pants!]_

"I am Owen!" he bellowed. "Bring me two of every meat! No, seriously, heh heh, I'm starving here!"

_[Owen's Attacks... Number 2! Quake Shake.]_

Owen started singing and shaking, doing the latter with his back to Scott as his butt cheeks bounced up and down as if they were fighting to escape from his shorts.

"Shake it, bake it, booty quake it! Rollin' around! Shake it, bake it, booty quake it! Rollin' around!"

Owen then leaped backwards, hitting Scott butt-first in the face and knocking him to the ground. Owen kept flying in that direction until he was out of sight.

"**WHYYYYYYY!**" cried Scott.

A '25' appeared above Scott's head as he got back to his feet.

_[Hot Setting]_

Brick fiddled with his rifle for a second. His rifle began glowing red as he charged up his shot. He fired, and the shot hit Scott.

"**OW!**"

That was enough to deal '18' damage, as well as end the battle. Scott was speechless.

"..."

_[Mike, Zoey, Brick, and Cameron each received 88 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Zoey leveled up!  
Brick leveled up!  
Cameron leveled up!  
Party received 970 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 11 - Bridgette!]_

* * *

"Stupid spirit," cursed Scott, blaming his loss on Bridgette. "Should've known you were useless the second I saw you on the ground!"

He flicked Bridgette's marble over to Zoey, who caught it. He then headed for the exit.

"**HEY!**" yelled Mike. "Where do you think you're going?"

"You think I'm gonna let you dorks take me prisoner? **HA!**"

Scott clapped his hands once, and the lights went out. A mad scramble in the dark could be heard as the boys tried to find the light switch. Eventually, Zoey did, and she was the one standing by it as the lights came back up. Scott, though, was gone.

"I hope we've seen the last of Scott!" Cameron said out loud, wishfully.

The others turned towards Cameron, believing he was right. Then...

"Oh, who am I kidding? We'll run into him again."

"And we'll be ready," Mike said assuredly, putting an arm around his friend.

* * *

The next morning...

Mike, Brick, and Cameron were walking out of Castle Wawanakwa, heading for the front gate. Dressed in their armor and their laser rifles recharged and ready to go, they met up with Princess Zoey, who was relaying final instructions to a security guard she had just hired to watch over the place in her absence.

A guard dressed in Wawanakwa yellow that looked like Izzy, only with dark black hair.

"Do you understand?" the princess asked. "Absolutely no one, and I mean, **NO ONE**, is to get past you! You are to guard this gate 24-7 until I return."

"Got it," the new guard nodded. "No one past. Guard gate 24-7. Right-o!"

Hearing the guys walk up, Zoey turned to address them.

"I'm set. You guys ready to explore the planet and find these other Marble Spirits?"

"Yes, princess!" the three guys said in unison.

Mike then leaned in close to Zoey to add something in on his own.

"So, after we get done with this, princess, what do you think about us going out on a date? You, me, your hot springs, canoodling like there's no tomorrow?"

Zoey frowned. "Mike. This search could take days! Weeks! A couple months, even!"

With that, she turned and took a few steps away from him.

"So... I can pencil you in for a month from Tuesday?"

Zoey did not respond. Mike leaned towards the guys, smiling as he whispered something to them.

"I'm penciling her in for a month from Tuesday."

The boys started to walk after Zoey.

"**WAIT!**"

The group stopped as the new palace guard ran up to the princess with a small business card in hand.

"You need better weapons and armor and accessories and all that junk? You should go there!"

Zoey looked at the card. It read 'Izzy's Backwater Emporium. Refurbished outpost now open in Quasar. Under new management. Everything must go.'

"Wow," chuckled Zoey, "kinda surprised that all fit on one card. Thanks, Lizzy!"

She then looked at her team.

"Well, guys. Looks like our first stop is Quasar!"

"Yes!" exclaimed Brick, pumping his fist. "This calls for some traveling music!"

He pulled out a banjo, to the surprise of everyone.

"Uh... anyone know how to play the banjo?"

* * *

A traveling montage began with a banjo playing in the background. Mike sang as the party walked across the nearly-barren landscape separating Castle Wawanakwa from the town of Quasar.

"Rats, snakes, and squirrels, oh my! Spiders with fangs, by the by! I want to, but cannot tell a lieeeee! Don't eat us, giant worm!"

"Mike," Zoey interrupted, breaking the flow of the song, "worm doesn't rhyme."

"Oh, yeah? Tell **HIM **that!"

He pointed to the giant worm following them and eating everything in his path.

"**RUNNING ALL THE WAY TO THE NEXT TOWN!**" the four screamed in unison as they bolted off.

* * *

After escaping the giant worm, the group arrived in the town of Quasar.

"Let's find this Emporium," suggested Zoey, "then search for some Spirit Marbles!"

Upon entering the town, they began to hear the voice of a young woman address a crowd of onlookers. Curious, Mike and his party decided to walk over and find out what was going on. Somehow, they made their way to the front.

Once there, they saw that the one talking to the crowd was Staci. B, who was standing off to the side, was also there, obviously letting his travel partner do all the talking.

"I heard, this one girl, the Type A, went into hiding and is secretly working for the postal service in some backwoods town to the west. I also heard, about this one boy, the Jock, who is currently studying at the world's most prestigious university, to become a civil engineer!"

Cameron leaned towards Princess Zoey and whispered something to her.

"It sounds like she's talking about some of the classic spirits. But I thought you said they're all trapped within those marbles."

"I did, but there's no way of knowing for sure until we find all the marbles. For all I know, some of them might have not been present on the day of their disappearances. There's no way to know for sure, because there were no witnesses."

"So you're saying we should detain the enemy?" cut in Brick. "Sounds like a great plan, ma'am! I mean, princess!"

Zoey began to think about their next course of action. Staci, meanwhile, continued to gab.

"Oh, there's also this one, the Cool Guy, who ended up settling down with his girlfriend, in a village surrounded by a surf resort. His parents own it."

Suddenly, an outburst came from the crowd.

"No way!"

Everyone turned to the random adult male in the crowd.

"I've been a good friend of the owner of that resort since childhood, and he only has one child, a daughter!"

A woman, a few people to his right, started shouting.

"She knows nothing about the whereabouts of the missing classic teens! She's a liar!"

With that, the crowd began to boo loudly.

"**BOO! BOO!**"

And then they began throwing empty cans at Staci. Seeing his partner in trouble, B stepped forward. He shielded Staci from the cans as she hid behind him, swatting anything that came close to hitting either of them.

"She may be a liar," Zoey thought to herself, "but in this time of turmoil, my people cannot afford to turn against each other."

She ran into the line of fire.

"**PRINCESS!**" Mike yelled.

Zoey got in front of B. She spread her arms out, and immediately upon seeing the princess, the onlookers immediately stopped chucking cans. They could not do anything about the projectiles already airborne. Luckily, none of them hit Zoey. Though one did land on her head upside down.

"How dare you!" shouted Princess Zoey, in defiance. "This is not how we treat each other in my kingdom!"

The crowd's faces changed, but not in the way the redhead expected. They looked repulsed, grossed out, and even squeamish. Zoey was perplexed, even as she glanced over to Mike and the others, only to see the same looks on their faces.

And then she felt something squishy. Something both embedding itself in her hair and dripping off from her head, in front of her face.

"Oh, fruit snacks!" she grumbled. "I washed my hair this morning! Twice!"

"**SORRY**," some random guy yelled from the back of the crowd, "**GOT SO EXCITED I THREW MY LUNCH!**"

Cameron then turned away and puked on to the ground.

"Creamed corn gives him the fits, ma'am," Brick hastily explained to Zoey.

Staci came around both B and Zoey to address the latter directly, bowing gracefully before her as she did.

"Princess! If I may, I know of this great hairdresser! She uses these magical bees that help add volume to your hair!"

"I don't need volume," Zoey said in response. "I need to get this gunk out!"

Zoey then started picking the small pieces of corn out of her hair and flicking them off to the side. Meanwhile, Mike was gazing upon Staci's waist. Then, B's waist as well.

"Uh, sir?" questioned Brick, a bit uncomfortable. "Staring like a creeper is impolite. Sir. No disrespect."

"Brick, do you notice something about their waists?"

"Soldiers aren't allowed to discriminate on someone when it comes to their weight, per regulation three-point-one-four-dash-four."

"I'm not talking about that! Look!"

He pointed at a white marble on Staci's belt with the Number 15 on it. Mike then directed to a similar marble on B's belt, which had the Number 14 on it.

"They each have a Spirit Marble!" shouted Brick.

Zoey gasped upon hearing that. She then felt B tap her on the shoulder. The princess turned around just in time to see he had unclipped his marble from his belt and was going to give it to her.

"What are you doing?" snapped Staci, reaching in and snatching the marble from B before the exchange could be made.

B opened his mouth to respond, but he got cut off by Mike.

"She's your princess!" he said to Staci. "She has the right to anything she wants!"

"No I don't!" Zoey exclaimed.

"**WHAT? **You don't?"

Zoey stepped away from Staci and B, allowing her to rejoin Mike, Brick, and Cameron.

"There's only one way to get a Spirit Marble from someone in possession of one."

"Ask for them nicely?" suggested Cameron.

"Shoot first, ask questions later?" stated Brick.

Brick was then seen adjusting the setting on his laser rifle from mild to hot, then spicy, and finally, OMG So Dead. Zoey rolled her eyes as she turned to Mike, who was currently putting a giant pot over a campfire he had made out of nowhere.

"Okay," he said, holding up a raw 20-pound turkey up above the pot. "Anyone know how long it takes to deep fry one of these bad boys?"

Zoey threw her arms up in disbelief and frustration.

"Why do I even..."

Before she could finish her thought, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was B again. This time, though, he was offering her a contract.

"Huh?" she queried, as she gently took it from B.

The boys gathered around her, even Mike, with the raw turkey in his hands. Zoey read the words on the contract aloud.

"'S and B are willing to part with one, and only one, of our coveted marbles, free-of-charge, no catch. The spirit in B's possession is codenamed The Sweet Girl, Number 14, also known as Katie. The spirit in S's possession is codenamed The Sweet Girl's Friend, Number 15, who goes by the name Sadie. If you agree to these terms, Princess Zoey, sign below and indicate which spirit you want.'"

The foursome looked up from the document and saw that Staci and B were nodding at them.

"But don't we need them all?" questioned Cameron. "We can't just take one."

"I know of one way to get both!" smirked Brick.

He pointed his laser rifle at B. But before he could even put his finger on the trigger, Zoey stepped in front of the rifle, glaring angrily at Brick.

"You're not gonna let me, are you?"

Zoey shook her head. Brick sighed, then lowered the rifle and turned the setting back to mild.

"So if we can only get one," Mike thought aloud, "which one do we take?"

[It's decision time!]

"**AAH!**" screamed Cameron, nearly jumping out of his pants, "that voice!"

"We're not even in a battle!" shouted Mike.

[Which spirit will you take?]

"She can't hear us, can she?"

Zoey shook her head. "Nope."

[Will it be Katie, the Sweet Girl? Or Sadie, the Sweet Girl's Friend?

Choose: Katie/Sadie]

***** To be continued... *****


	5. Can I Ride You?

"Last time," Zoey said, as she faced the screen, "the boys and I were left with a tough decision. One we couldn't make ourselves, so we let you make it! So, what have you decided? Are we taking Katie, or are we taking Sadie?"

[Choose: Katie/Sadie

Katie.]

"Great choice!"

Zoey then walked back over to Staci and B to inform them of their decision.

"We've decided to go with Katie, the Sweet Girl."

Staci and B looked at each other, and smiled.

"Oh, you'll love her! Katie is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" gasped Cameron, in astonishment.

Mike was also impressed.

"That sounds like it's too good to be true... it isn't, is it?"

Staci grinned from ear-to-ear. Mike frowned.

"Oh, just cut to the title sequence."

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

The plot moves along, and with each passing week it seems this story is getting funnier and funnier! And finally, some fanservice, which you might be looking forward to after the false tease two weeks ago.

Also, I keep forgetting to post the links to the previews of the next episode on my profile page even though the link is going out on my Twitter account. I'll try to remember to do that, but to make sure I don't forget, poke me. Or follow me on Twitter. It's your call.

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 5 [31]: Can I Ride You? (10.22.12)  
-**

_[Party received Marble 14 - Katie!  
Party received B's half-eaten sandwich!]_

"Mmm, yum!" exclaimed Mike.

"Mike!" Zoey shouted. "He had already taken a bite out of it!"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't eaten anything all day!"

* * *

After Mike had finished off the sandwich, the group chatted with Staci and B some more, even as the crowd around them had begun to break up.

"So you're saying that you saw somebody with a Spirit Marble up in the mountains," Mike said, repeating what he had been told by Staci. "And you're telling the truth this time?"

"For the 100th time, **YES! **I may be a compulsive liar, but that doesn't mean I lie all the time!"

"I think she has no reason to lie about that," Brick said, speaking his thoughts aloud. "Besides, she still believes in her princess."

All eyes turned to Princess Zoey, who was pleased with the unexpected endorsement. Meanwhile, B was in the process of pulling something out. It turned out to be a piece of paper, which he handed to Mike.

"What's this?"

He took a second to read it, and then revealed what was on it to the others.

"Wait! B, you're into the stock market?"

Silent B nodded.

_[Would you like to buy some stock?_

_Current Stock Prices: A - 120, B - 205, C - 290, D - 75, E - 7]_

Mike decided to spend a pretty fair amount of their party's limited cash.

"Let's buy three shares in A, a share in B, and 20 shares in E!"

He then proceeded to hand over 790 C to pay for the stocks. B opened his mouth to thank Mike, but...

"Sorry, but we need to go," Zoey cut in. "Time is of the essence!"

With that, Zoey pulled Mike away from the pair. Brick and Cameron shrugged their shoulders, and then followed them out.

"Are you sure you should've spent our money like that? We still have to buy supplies."

"Don't worry, Zo! It'll pay off! Just you watch!"

Zoey sighed. "For all our sakes, I hope you're right."

The party of four proceeded to make their way through the rest of the town of Quasar. There was a small inn, where they could rest, as well as a few houses and two-story apartments. But eventually, they found what they were looking for.

Izzy's Backwater Emporium.

"There's the place Lizzy told me about!" Zoey exclaimed.

They headed inside, passing beneath the 'Under New Management' banner. Once inside, they immediately made their way to the counter, where they were met by the shop's owner.

"Welcome to Izzy's Backwater Emporium!" she said to them. "I'm the new owner, Mizzy! What can I get for you?"

The foursome eyed Mizzy closely. Mike then pictured the image of Izzy he had ingrained in his memory, as he held up the marble that her spirit was supposed trapped within. He turned back to Mizzy, and noticed she looked very similar, aside from her violet-colored hair and the quilted poncho she was wearing.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen you before," Mike told Mizzy.

"That's highly unlikely there, partner," Mizzy replied. "I just moved here a few weeks ago, to get this place all ship-shape for the reopening!"

Zoey began to suspect that this girl was Izzy as well, but she had a different approach to drawing her out.

"You know, you kinda look like the girl I just hired to guard the palace while I was away."

"Oh! Her? Pfft... Lizzy's my cousin! Don't you see the family resemblance?"

The foursome looked at each other, then back at Mizzy.

"Kinda," Zoey admitted.

"But you're cousins," Mike exclaimed, "and cousins usually don't look as identical as you and Lizzy do!"

Mizzy had a perfect explanation for that. "We keep our genes in the family, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I see... **WHAT?**"

"See?"

Mizzy pulled out a pair of worn, but surprisingly hole-free, blue jeans.

"We've passed this here pair of jeans for generations! Though I reckon it's about time to give 'em up. Someone new needs them."

She threw them at Cameron, who caught them with his face, and was knocked down to the floor as a result.

"If you're heading back to Castle Wawanakwa, do me a solid and give them jeans to Lizzy. She'll be mighty pleased to finally get to wear that bad boy!"

"But we just came from there," Zoey said. "I'm Princess Zoey. I kinda live there."

Mizzy jumped the counter and got into Zoey's face, giving her a very close inspection-by-eye. Mizzy went down, moving towards a squatting position as she examined Zoey's body carefully, from head to toe. Zoey, meanwhile, was blushing in embarrassment.

"Pardon me, but could you not do that? It's kinda creepy."

The boys watched as Mizzy did her thing. And then they nearly lost it when Mizzy touched Zoey in a place she was not comfortable with.

"Hey!" Zoey squeaked.

"**DONE!**" yelled Mizzy. "Now I know all your measurements!"

Mizzy hummed a tune as she trotted over to the Women's Clothing department. Meanwhile, Zoey was left red-faced as she protectively held her arms over her chest. Mizzy returned a few seconds later with what appeared to be a girls' private school uniform.

"Um, again, I'm a princess. Not a private school girl."

"But that's the thing! You're home-schooled! It's the next best thing!"

Before she could object further, Mizzy shoved Zoey into the dressing room, along with the new outfit.

"Okay, who's next?"

Mizzy turned her attention to the boys, as she already began imagining outfits to give each of them. But first, she had to take their measurements.

"I'm good!" shouted Mike.

"No thanks," said a fearful Brick.

"I'm too young to be groped!" exclaimed Cameron.

Mizzy had a sinister smile on her face as she stomped towards them. The trio wrapped their arms around each other before letting a simultaneous scream of mortal terror.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

* * *

"I don't know," Zoey said, hesitantly, as she stepped out in the School Princess armor-slash-outfit. "It fits better than anything I've ever worn, but..."

"**BUT?**" questioned Mizzy, with a grim-look on her face.

That made Zoey a little nervous, but she continued anyway.

"...I think this skirt might be an inch or two too short. Perhaps I could get a slightly longer one?"

"Nonsense! I'll prove it's not too short! Bend over!"

"Um, okay..."

Zoey bent forward, not paying attention as Mizzy walked behind her...

"...so, what are you doing back there? Measuring the skirt?"

She spun around and nearly did a double-take when she saw Mizzy staring directly at her butt, literally just inches away.

"You can just see the white..." Mizzy remarked.

Zoey's face went all crimson red as she spun around and now moved her hands down behind her to cover her rear.

"Do I look like I'm Japanese?"

Mizzy smiled. "Oh, you won't believe how many girls have tried to fool me with that one. In a perfect world, all girls are Japanese!"

"**WILL YOU JUST GET ME SOME PANTS!**"

"Oh, fine! But you do realize that the School Princess armor gives you a 20 percent attack boost."

"Wait. 20 percent?"

"Uh huh. 20 percent."

"So, a 20 percent attack boost makes me... **20 PERCENT COOLER!**"

Mizzy smacked Zoey across the face.

"No. **NO, YOU ARE NOT!**"

"Wha..."

"**ARE YOU A PONY? CAN I RIDE YOU?**"

Zoey hesitated before answering, meekly, "No..."

"**THEN YOU ARE NOT 20 PERCENT COOLER!**"

"Hey, girls!" Mike shouted from off-screen. "At the risk of completely embarrassing ourselves, can we come out now?"

Mizzy pushed Zoey aside, and then responded.

"Yes!"

The two girls watched as the trio stepped out of the dressing room. Mike was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, Brick was in a tutu, and Cameron had on nothing but a diaper being held in place by a lone safety pin. Mizzy broke out in hysterical laughter, while Zoey seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wow," Zoey thought to herself, "maybe I got the least embarrassing outfit after all."

"**HAHAHAHAHAHA!**" laughed Mizzy, pointing back and forth at three boys.

"What the Hell?" questioned Mike. "These are the outfits you told us to try on!"

Mizzy's laughter ceased as she attempted to compose herself to give a response.

"No. No, they're not. But I sure wish they were! **HAHAHAHA!**"

"You told us to try on the outfits on Rack B6!" exclaimed Brick.

But Mizzy shook her head. "I didn't say B6! I said D6! The ones on B6 are being reserved for some lunatics who needed wacky outfits for a costume party! **HAHAHAHA!**"

The boys grumbled as they marched off to retrieve the right clothes.

* * *

Soon enough, Mike, Brick, and Cameron were back. They were all dressed in private school uniforms, just like Zoey. Boys' uniforms, of course.

"Well," Mike said, in a surrendering tone, "at least we're all matching."

"Not bad," admitted Zoey.

She seemed to be taking a liking to Mike's uniform in particular, and he was willing to play along.

"So do you, my dear!"

Zoey let Mike put her arm around her back so he could hold her close to his body.

"Oh, Mike! Can I ask you a question?"

Mike smiled. "Anything, Zo!"

"Do you mind if we switch?"

Suddenly, Mike heard a record scratch.

"Wait, what?"

"Switch! You give me your pants, I give you my skirt."

Mizzy, though, was having none of that, as she got in between them and started screaming.

"**ERRRRRRRRRRRRR! NO EXCHANGES!**"

Zoey snapped her fingers and then tugged at the back of her skirt before pulling away from Mike, who seemed confused.

"Did I miss something?" Mike asked, turning to Brick and Cameron.

They shrugged, unable to answer his question. Meanwhile, Mizzy was writing on a clipboard, which actually happened to be their bill.

"Okay, four new outfits. Anything else?"

Zoey pulled out a laundry-sized list of potions that she believed they would need.

"Do we really need that much?" queried Cameron. "Just how far is it to the next town?"

"It never helps to be prepared!" answered Zoey.

She handed the list to Mizzy.

"Anything else?"

Brick decided to speak up.

"Can you do anything about these laser rifles? I have a feeling these will be outdated before too long."

"Well, we don't sell new rifles here at the Emporium. But we do sell upgrades and modifications! I can improve the grip for better accuracy, the charge capacitor for number of shots you can take before needing a recharge, replace the barrel with a lighter one for improved mobility, or I can put a bow on it!"

"That sounds good. How much?"

"Since you all have stock rifles, the first-level upgrade is 5000 C per part."

"Wait, for every part?" questioned Cameron. "It costs 5000 C to put a bow on it?"

"Yeah, silly billy! How else do you think I'll make any money off this trash heap of a store?"

Brick thought about it for a second. He glanced over at Mike and Zoey, as if to ask for permission.

"Based on our tab," Zoey thought out loud, even as she eyed the price tag still attached to her skirt, "we probably have enough money left to do one upgrade for one rifle."

"It's settled then," Mike decided without delay. "Brick, have at it!"

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Mike handed his rifle off to Mizzy. No one other than two of them knows which upgrade Brick decided to get. Mizzy went to the back room to get to work.

* * *

Some time later, Mike, Zoey, Brick, and Cameron walked out of Izzy's Backwater Emporium. With their packs filled with supplies and their new outfits equipped, they headed towards nearby Crash Mountains.

"So far, we've got six of 24 Spirit Marbles," Princess Zoey informed them. "Our mission is 25 percent complete."

"We've got that many already!" Cameron said, giddy. "This might not be as hard as I thought!"

"Number 7 awaits us somewhere in the Crash Mountains!" pointed out Brick. "Let's find that sucker and bring it home! The command's on you, sir!"

"Very well," Mike proclaimed. "The adventure continues! To Crash Mountains!"

"**YEAH!**" the foursome yelled, in unison.

* * *

After traversing a short path leading up to the foot of the Crash Mountains, and taking care of any wayward creatures that dared get in their way, the party began their ascent. Mike led the way, followed by Zoey, Brick, and Cameron. All of the boys kept their rifles at the ready, as new creatures, both of the natural and the supernatural, continued their attempts to end their lives. Meanwhile, Zoey, when not in battle, was constantly looking at her homemade map of the planet.

We rejoined the group, now six miles along the rising trail and about half-a-mile up from the bottom.

"There's a fork in the road up ahead," Princess Zoey told the guys. "Whatever you do, make sure you take the left one."

The guys nodded. As they approached the fork, though, they began to hear the noise of an engine coming up behind them. They spun their heads around and gasped when they spotted the source... a giant pink monster truck!

"**SINCE WHEN DO TRUCKS COME IN MONSTER SIZE?**" screamed Cameron.

"**RUN!**" ordered Mike.

The four of them ran as hard as they could. They came up to the fork and started turning left, to go further up the mountain.

"Ten o'clock, sir!" shouted Brick. "**TEN O'CLOCK!**"

"That was hours ago," Cameron said in return.

"No, **TEN O'CLOCK!**"

Brick pointed up the path to a boulder, which was rolling down towards them.

"Back the other way, **BACK THE OTHER WAY!**"

Brick and Cameron made the short hop down to the lower, right-hand path. After Mike did, he spread out his arms and motioned for Zoey to jump into them.

"I gotcha, Zo!"

Zoey closed her eyes and jumped off the path, just in the nick of time to avoid getting flattened. She landed perfectly in his arms, to Mike's surprise.

"I... I can't believe..."

"Yeah, Mike. Me neither."

They saw the boulder reach the fork and then fly off the side of the cliff. Mike and Zoey breathed a sigh of relief, until the roar of an engine reminded them that the monster truck was still there.

"Riiiiight..." the couple said in unison.

Mike started running again, continuing to carry Zoey instead of putting her down. Despite the added weight, he caught up to Brick and Cameron, who had stopped near the end of the path, marked by a guard rail and nothing but a 2000-foot drop on the other side of it.

"This is the end," Brick remarked, "of the road. There's nowhere else to go!"

"**WHY IS EVERYTHING TRYING TO KILL US?**" screamed Cameron.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, Cam, it's only episode five! If you're afraid of dying, why'd you come on this journey in the first place?"

Cameron replied meekly. "My mom said I needed to get out more."

The four turned around to face the oncoming monster truck, as well as their impending deaths. But instead of running them over, the driver of the truck decided to stop. The person then turned the engine off, leaving about 50 feet between the front of the vehicle and the end of the road.

"Who would go to all this trouble just to trap us?" wondered Mike.

But Zoey frowned. She knew who would do just that.

"Only one person on this planet doesn't it keep a secret that she wants my crown."

The driver's side door opened, and as Zoey expected, it was Dakota that jumped out of the monster truck.

"Dakota!" Zoey shouted. "You nearly ran us over! Who taught you how to drive?"

Dakota smirked, then gave the princess an answer.

"You did."

Zoey paused, then nodded, as Dakota was indeed telling the truth.

"I see you finally figured out how to drive up mountains with a monster truck."

"Yeah! I only had to crash and escape certain death, like, six times first!"

Zoey laughed. "Yeah... your family's rich."

"But enough of the pleasantries! I know what you're up to, Zoey! You're trying to collect all the Spirit Marbles! You heard about how gathering them all grants the lucky collector one wish, with no restrictions."

"Really?" Mike seemed confused. "Zoey, you kept **ANOTHER **secret from us?"

"No! Yes! Maybe! I told you, there's no definitive record on what bringing all the Spirit Marbles together will do! Other than using their individual powers, but that's it!"

"Regardless of the truth of that rumor," interrupted Dakota, "all I know is that the details of your mission have spread to the four corners of the planet! And everyone knows that whoever gathers all the Spirit Marbles will be the most powerful person on the planet! And that, therefore, makes them the ruler of all of Wawanakwa!"

"You think beating us to all the Spirit Marbles will make you princess? Get real, Dakota! We already have six!"

"Six, huh? Well, we only have four, including the three that I won off you in the past, Zoey. But we can change that."

"We? Who's we?"

Dakota snapped her fingers, expecting the other half of her 'we' to show up. But nobody appeared. Dakota snapped them again. Nobody appeared. She snapped them a third time.

And she started hearing huffing and puffing. So did the princess and her team.

"**SAM! HURRY UP!**"

A minute later, an out-of-breath Sam squeezed by the driver's side of the monster truck, as he finally took his place beside Dakota.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I was..."

Dakota held up her left hand, stopping him.

"I don't care what your excuse is! You're making me look bad in front of the royal pain-in-the-butt!"

"Hello!" kindly waved Zoey from 50 feet away. "I can hear you!"

Sam tried to catch his breath. Dakota tapped her feet impatiently until he was done, which Sam signified by giving her a thumbs up.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Dakota turned back towards Zoey.

"Here's the deal! Everyone in, winning team takes all!"

"Fair enough!" Zoey shouted back. "You've got a deal!"

Dakota and Sam each took out a Spirit Marble to not only use for the battle, but also to bet on the result of the match. They made sure to hold the number away from Mike's party to keep secret which ones they were using. Zoey opened the case of Spirit Marbles for her team, and chosen one herself. She followed the same routine as Dakota and Sam, presenting her offering.

"What did you just agree to?" wondered Mike, as Zoey closed the box and then tossed it to him.

"It's an old gambling term used back in the days of the planet's Gold Rush. Two sides compete, with each of the participants offering the same amount of bounty. In this case, each of us puts on the line one Spirit Marble. They then fight, and the team that comes out the winner takes the pot."

"But that means we're offering four to their two!" deduced Cameron. "That's not fair!"

"Life is never fair. **ESPECIALLY** when you're a princess. Now, guys, pick a Spirit Marble!"

[Now that the team has more than four Spirit Marbles, each member of the team must select only one to use for the battle's duration. Zoey has selected to use Number 18, Eva.

Please choose a Spirit Marble for each of the other party members to use.

Party Members: Mike, Brick, Cameron  
Available Spirits: 03-Gwen / 11-Bridgette / 14-Katie / 19-Owen / 22-Izzy]

***** To be continued... *****


	6. Useless Much?

Mike nodded at his squad, signifying that he had decided which Spirit Marbles for all of them to use. Zoey walked up to him.

"Okay, Mike. You're in charge. Finish preparing for battle, and when you're ready, walk towards Dakota to begin."

Mike took a quick look at what armor was equipped. He was wearing the School Blazer, Zoey had on the School Princess, Brick had on the School Pants, and Cameron had on the School Shirt. He then proceeded to unequip the School Shirt, leaving Cameron in just his military uniform.

"That should do it!"

With that, Mike ran towards Dakota. Seeing him approach, Dakota held up her hand to stop him when he was about 15 feet away.

"That's close enough! On this planet, we don't do hand-to-hand combat! Get ready to get rocked by the incredible power of my spirits!"

"Our spirits," Sam cut in. "She means our spir-"

"**LET'S GO ALREADY! **I have a hair appointment at four!"

And with that, the battle began... right after the title sequence.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

So, after an unscheduled week off thanks to Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, we're back! This week, it's our heroes' second battle with Dakota! And this time she has help! Will Mike and the others triumph? Time to find out!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 6 [32]: Useless Much? (11.05.12)  
-**

Zoey, as the fastest participant in the battle, had the privilege of making the first move. She aimed her laser rifle at Dakota and fired off one beam shot. But Dakota dodged it.

"Ha! Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss... kiss... **LINE?**"

Dakota then ran up to kick Brick in the right shin. It did not do much, only causing '4' points of damage.

"Time to see what this baby can do!"

Mike took out his Spirit Marble and threw it at the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 14, ready to summon!]_

A new classic character stepped onto the battlefield for the first time, as Katie appeared before them all.

_[Katie, the Sweet Girl! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Yea!" Katie cheered, applauding her own entrance.

_[Katie seems hesitant to battle.]_

Katie just floated there for a few seconds. Mike's turn ended, with Katie just staying in place. Next up was Brick, who took his bow-adorned laser rifle. He fired a shot at Dakota, which hit her in the stomach.

"Eek!" she screamed, as a '27' appeared above her head.

Sam was next. For his turn, he pulled out a Crystal Juice and used it on Dakota, healing her '50' points.

"Thanks, big guy!" Dakota said in response.

_[Cameron is preparing to attack.]_

Cameron called for his most powerful attack, which takes a turn to charge. The action spun back around to Zoey. Before doing so, though, she had an observation to make.

"It looks like Sam's trying to protect Dakota! We won't be able to take her down unless we get rid of him first!"

Zoey then proceeded to pull out her Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 18, ready to summon!  
Eva, the Female Bully! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Eva spun around and glared at her summoner, Zoey.

"**HOW DARE YOU SUMMON ME DURING MY WORKOUT!**"

_[Eva's Attacks... Number 1! The Growl!]_

Eva motioned to move towards Sam. Instead, though, she spun around and growled loudly at Zoey!

_[Zoey has been inflicted with the Fear status.]_

Eva then left the battlefield. It was Dakota's turn, and she looked as if she was going to summon a spirit herself.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 10, ready to summon!]_

"Now I'll prove that money does buy power!" the blonde exclaimed.

She threw the marble at the ground, releasing the spirit inside. Once the smoke cleared, a black-haired male teen with a guitar appeared.

_[Trent, the Cool Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Hey," he greeted, in a cool fashion.

Trent rolled up his sleeves, ready to attack his enemy. But...

_[Trent seems hesitant to battle.]_

"I could never hurt her," he said aloud.

"Ugh!" growled Dakota. "Useless much?"

Dakota's turn ended, with Trent hanging around. Speaking of spirits overstaying their welcome, Mike's turn began with Katie finally leaving the battlefield.

"Huh?" gasped Mike in surprise.

Zoey offered an explanation.

"It seems that the spirits can sense each other's presence. Some will only attack if certain characters are also present in the battle. On the other hand, some will not attack if they detect the presence of certain spirits."

Mike scoffed. "That's lame!"

Mike raised his laser rifle and fired a shot at Sam. Sam was hurt with '9' damage.

"Damn," cursed Mike. "He just won't go down!"

Brick also attacked Sam. He was a little more successful, as his shot zapped Sam for '16' life points. In retaliation, Sam used his turn to fire back at Brick. But his shot missed so badly that it ended up hitting Cameron!

"Ack!" cried Cameron, as a '20' appeared over his head.

"Oops!" Sam apologized. "Sorry!"

"Don't apologize for that!" reprimanded Dakota.

Cameron dusted himself off, and performed his ultimate attack.

_[Bubble Boy Blitz]_

Cameron snapped his fingers, and suddenly he was inside the giant 'bubble' that he had lived in most of his life. Then, using it like a hamster ball, he rolled towards the opposing team. He flattened both Dakota and Sam and then returned to where he had started. The bubble disappeared, while Dakota and Sam regained their shapes, as if they were cartoon characters. The amount of damage they had received as a result of the attack appeared above their heads; it was '33' apiece.

"Bubble boys rule!" proclaimed Cameron triumphantly.

_[Zoey is too scared to move!]_

With Zoey too afraid to make a move, Dakota made hers. With Trent departing the battlefield, Dakota attacked herself, charging at the redhead and kicking her in the shin, hitting her for '7' damage.

Mike tried to summon Trent again...

"No!" shouted Zoey. "You can only use each Marble Spirit once per battle!"

Upon hearing that, Mike had to decide on another tactic. He decided upon attacking on Sam, firing a laser shot at him.

"Ow!" Sam whined, as he lost another '9' life points. "You critted me!"

Sam took a second to catch his breath, and then he spoke up.

"I cannot fall in battle! Dakota is counting on me!"

Brick did the same thing he did last turn, firing a 16-point laser shot at Sam. Sam, looking to do some good damage, decided it was time to use his Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 17, ready to summon!]_

"Star power get!" shouted Sam. "I am invincible! Doot doot doot doodoodoot doodoodoot doot doot doot doodoodoot doodoodoot..."

"This isn't a video game!" snapped Dakota, ironic since they were in a video game parody story.

Sam threw his marble at the ground. A few seconds later, the brown-haired and short-of-stature spirit inside emerged, his arms raised straight up with confidence.

_[Cody, the Geek! He is a spirit! He's not wearing underwear!]_

"You didn't have to tell them that!" Cody shouted, as his hands instinctively lowered to cover his crotch area.

Cody pulled out a red rubber ball and looked like he was ready to use it. But, once more...

_[Cody seems hesitant to battle.]_

Cody put the ball away. He then started whistling as he swayed back and forth, hovering in place and sticking around to see what would happen next, ending Sam's turn in the process.

Cameron was next. You could probably guess what he was going to do.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 22, ready to summon!  
Izzy, the Psycho Head Beast! She is a spirit! I'm drinking lemonade!]_

"Ha ha! Izzy's ready to pounce!"

_[Izzy's Attacks... Number 2! 99 Problems.]_

Izzy started to rap.

"If you havin' girl problems, I feel bad for you, son! You got 99 problems but I definitely **AIN'T **one!"

She then pulled out a small pistol and fired exactly 99 rapid-fire laser pulse shots at Sam. Her accuracy was not the best, but every shot that hit cost Sam '1' life point. When all was said and done, Sam had taken '75' points of damage.

Izzy chuckled. "Oops, Izzy lied! Izzy does that sometimes!"

Izzy then departed the battlefield.

"I knew I should've done that side quest to get an extra life!" mumbled Sam.

Sam then promptly fainted, leaving Dakota to finish the battle herself. As a result of his summoner being knocked unconscious, Cody left. Back to the beginning of the rotation, as Zoey shot Dakota for '10' damage.

_[Paparazzi Power]_

Dakota used her special move, which summoned dozens of photographers to the scene. They ran completely through and over Mike's party to get Dakota. The blonde posed as she was photographed many times. Once they were satisfied with the number of shots they had gotten, the cameramen left the way they came, running through and over Mike's party a second time.

The attack hurt Zoey, Mike, Brick, and Cameron for '15,' '12,' '10,' and '21' points of damage. As a result, Cameron fainted.

"**CAM!**" screamed Zoey.

Mike took revenge for Cameron's fall, firing a shot at Dakota.

"Eek!" Dakota cried, taking a '14' point hit.

She shook off the hit, still ready to fight even though things were not looking good.

"Stop! My 15 minutes of fame aren't up yet!"

Brick was up. He was the only one who had yet to use his Spirit Marble, but he was ready to change that.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 03, ready to summon!]_

"This oughta turn the tide of this battle!" declared Brick.

Gwen emerged from the smoke, with a smirk on her face and a hand on her hip.

"You've got five minutes," she stated, "and then things get ugly."

_[Gwen, the Loner! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Brick pointed out Gwen's target... Dakota!

_[Gwen's Attacks... Number 1! The Glare.]_

Gwen flew over to Dakota, stopping just inches from the latter's face. She glared at the blonde. And glared at her. And glared at her.

"**AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!**" screamed Dakota.

Dakota then promptly fainted, as the attack was a one-hit KO move.

"Whatever," Gwen deadpanned.

Gwen then flew off.

_[Mike, Zoey, and Brick each received 145 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Zoey leveled up!  
Brick leveled up!  
Party received 1045 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 10 - Trent!  
Party received Marble 17 - Cody!]_

* * *

"I lost? Again? Grrrrr..."

Dakota looked a bit upset. Sam tried to put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to console her. But she just batted his hand away with her own. Mike's party looked at each other, wondering what to do. Zoey decided that the diplomatic thing to do would be for her to thank Dakota for a good battle.

But she never got the chance. The sound of a dozen soldiers double-time marching up the mountain could be heard in the distance.

"What? They're here?"

Zoey was curious. "Here? Dakota, who's here?"

"The McLean Army! I... I saw them in town! They were tailing us. I thought we had lost them, but..."

"It's okay," Sam said, interjecting. "I can take care of them."

Everyone watched in astonishment as Sam picked up Dakota's pink monster truck and raised it up over his head. He then slowly made his way back to the fork in the road.

"Sam!" shouted Dakota. "What are you doing?"

"What you hired me to do!" he said back. "Protecting you, Dakota!"

Once at the fork, Sam put the monster truck back down on the ground. He then started pushing, until the vehicle started rolling down the mountain on its own accord.

"**LOOK OUT!**" the McLean soldier at the head of the platoon yelled.

The platoon sprinted down the hill, back to a sharp bend in the road. Dakota's monster truck just kept going straight, flying right off the non-railed corner. It plummeted downward, eventually landing at the foot of the mountain, exploding in a ball of flames upon contact with the ground.

Back with Sam, who was being joined by Dakota and Mike's party at the fork.

"Sorry 'bout your monster truck," Sam apologized.

"Meh," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Daddy's got three more at home."

Dakota then turned to face Princess Zoey.

"I believe those guys are after you, princess. You'd better go. Don't want them getting their dirty hands on you."

Zoey gasped. "Dakota! You... care about my safety?"

Dakota rolled her eyes. "Pfft, no? I just don't want anyone else getting the chance to take you down! I will be princess one day, and I'm not letting those creeps take that birthright from me."

"Uh, Dakota? Pretty sure for it to be your birthright, you have to have been born into the royal family..."

"**WILL YOU GO ALREADY?**"

Mike grabbed Princess Zoey's hand and urged her to let Dakota and Sam hold off the approaching soldiers. Zoey nodded as Brick and Cameron led the way up the left fork, heading for higher altitudes. The princess let Mike pull her after them. Dakota watched them depart as Sam spotted the McLean Army platoon as they began their ascent back to the fork in the road.

"Don't worry about little ol' me," Dakota told Zoey, as she pulled out her remaining two Spirit Marbles. "Like I said, money buys power!"

With that, Mike's party started sprinting off, away from the impending battle. Sam began to quickly recharge his laser rifle, stopping briefly to accept one of the Spirit Marbles being handed to him by Dakota.

"I may have lost one battle today, Sam... but I'm **NOT** losing a second! **GOT IT?**"

Sam nodded. Dakota took a deep breath as she raised her laser rifle into a ready position as the soldiers raced towards her and her partner.

* * *

The four teenagers continued to make their way through the Crash Mountains, not stopping for anyone or anything for several hours. Finally, with the sun dropping lower and lower in the sky, Mike decided that it was time for a break. They found a cave, a little bit off of the main path, where they could rest. Brick pulled out a flare that he had bought in town, and lit it so that they could see.

"There we go!" he exclaimed, as he began to search for a place to plant the flare.

Princess Zoey sat down on a flat-topped rock jutting out of the ground, the only one in the cavern. She had a sad look on her face as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.

"I can't believe we just... left Dakota like that. We should've helped her!"

"Dakota's a big girl," Brick deadpanned. "She can take care of herself."

But Zoey was still unhappy with herself.

"I'm supposed to be looking out for my people, and here am I, abandoning one in her time of need!"

"Don't worry," Mike said, trying to reassure her as he squatted down next to her. "Dakota's a tough one. No matter how many times you try to squash her, she keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back, and coming back..."

"Uh huh."

"...and coming back, and coming back..."

"I get it, Mike..."

"...and coming back..."

"**MIKE!**"

Hearing Zoey snap at him, Mike quickly became quiet. Meanwhile, Cameron started taking some food packets out.

"Oh no!" Cameron suddenly cried out. "We forgot to buy water!"

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Brick. "Without water, a person can become severely dehydrated in as little as 72 hours! We must do something to remedy this, sir!"

The 'sir' was directed at Mike, who was still the commanding officer of their group.

"Well," Mike thought out loud, "mountains are known for having springs. Maybe there's one nearby!"

With that, Mike ran out of the cave before anyone could stop him.

* * *

Mike continued up the mountain path alone. He did not find a mountain spring, but he did find a small noodle cart parked on the side of the road, about a half mile away from the cave.

"How convenient! A noodle cart!"

He ran up to it. The cart only had one worker, who was dressed in a dark blue robe that obscured everything except for the person's rubber-gloved hands.

"Thank goodness!"

Mike caught his breath as he turned his head to look at the vendor's menu. But he could not read it because it was written in some unfamiliar language. Not that it mattered, because even if he could, there was only one choice.

"Noodles, stranger?" the robed individual asked.

"No thanks," replied Mike. "Just need bottled spring water."

"But noodles are good for you!"

Mike grumbled, apparently being pressured into buying the cart owner's noodles.

"Okay, fine! Just one package or whatever. And four bottles of water."

The robed worker nodded, and then squatted down to pull something out of the mini-holding unit built into the cart. A plastic bowl-shaped container with preheated soup was pulled out, as well as the four water bottles. The bottles were placed on the counter first, followed by the bowl. The worker opened the top and, while Mike was not looking, he - or she - dropped something into it and then immediately put the top back on.

The items were then placed inside a brown paper bag. Mike paid 100 C for all of it.

"Whoa, really? Why so cheap?"

"Why do you care? Would you rather pay 1000 C?"

Mike quickly backed down. "No, I'm okay, thanks!"

He picked up the bag and made his way back down the path, towards the cave. Once Mike was out of earshot, the vendor lifted his - or her - collar up to their neck, where a mini-microphone was attached.

"Mama Bird to Nest. Mama Bird to Nest. The penguin is in the oven! Repeat, the penguin is in the oven!"

* * *

Back at the cave, Cameron had already started a fire and set up a pot. Brick was chopping up vegetables, while Zoey was unfolding a blanket onto the ground so that they would not have to sit on it. Mike ran in, with the brown bag cradled in his arms.

"Here you go, Cam!" Mike said, pulling out one of the water bottles and handing it to him.

Cameron took it, with the expectancy that he was to use it for cooking. Mike gave him a second bottle for his own personal consumption. Mike gave the third to Brick and the last to Zoey.

"Is that all?" Zoey asked. "What about you?"

"What else?" Mike said, with a grin on his face. "We share."

Zoey's face began to blush a bright red.

"Oh. I... I see..."

As she twisted the cap off of the bottle, Mike pulled out his plastic bowl of noodles.

"So, Mike. Is... is there anything else you'd like to share?"

Seeing that Zoey was eyeing his noodles, Mike gave a swift response.

"Heck, no! **THIS IS ALL MINE!**"

Mike started devouring noodles by the spoonful, while an irate Zoey huffed and walked off, taking their water bottle all for herself. Out of the corner of his eye, Mike saw Zoey walk out of the cave.

"What's her deal?" Mike asked himself, in thought. "It's a single serving!"

At that moment, Mike reached the special item the vendor had dropped into his bowl. It looked like a red-colored lima bean, and tasted like one, but it was something more sinister.

[Mike has just eaten the ? seed.]

"**HEY!**" Mike shouted at the all-seeing female voice. "Not while I'm eating!"

Mike then resumed finishing off the rest of the noodles, unaware of what dangerous item he had just ingested.

* * *

The next morning...

Mike sat up in pain, rubbing his aching back after choosing to sleep on the bare, uneven cavern floor. He reached down to either side of him to wake Brick and Cameron, who had volunteered to do the same. The only person in the group that had managed to wrap herself in warmth overnight was Princess Zoey, who was sleeping comfortably in the group's lone sleeping bag.

"Man, we need to get some more money so we **ALL** have sleeping bags," Mike said aloud.

The others nodded in agreement.

* * *

While Cameron and Brick began to clean up the cave in preparation for their department, they let Zoey get a few more minutes of sleep. Meanwhile, Mike started to sift through the Spirit Marbles they had.

"Hmmmm... we now have eight. Getting there."

[Please choose a Spirit Marble for each of the other party members to use.

Party Members and Current Spirits:  
Mike (Katie), Zoey (Eva), Brick (Gwen), Cameron (Izzy)  
Available Spirits:  
10-Trent / 11-Bridgette / 17-Cody / 19-Owen]

Mike put Katie's marble back in the case and pulled out Owen's. It was not shown if he changed what marbles the other members of the party were holding.

"Looks like the early bird **DOES **catch the worm!"

Mike gasped as Scott appeared at the cave entrance, with an evil smirk on his face.

"This time," Scott growled, "you're not getting out of here alive."

***** To be continued... *****


	7. Off with That Mug's Head!

Inside the throne room of a castle located on the other side of the Crash Mountains...

"**GUARDS!**"

Two armored knights rushed into the throne room. Their monarch pointed at a peasant who was kneeling on the floor, in the midst of begging for something.

"**OFF WITH THIS MUG'S HEAD! **Or whatever."

The guards complied, each grabbing an arm and dragging the peasant towards the executioner's chamber. The royal secretary then approached the throne, holding a scroll in one hand and a quill pen in the other.

"Princess, some news from your subjects. The latest polls show that your popularity has fallen from 46 percent to 45 percent since yesterday."

"Some schmuck decided he wants to disrespect me? Find him and **OFF WITH THAT MUG'S HEAD!**"

The secretary coughed as he made a note of the princess' decree, and then read the next item on the scroll.

"Also, the royal hair cuttery establishment has lodged a complaint that your decree that they cannot open each day until noon is cutting in their profits. The owner says that at this rate, she won't be able to pay all of her employees this week!"

The princess thought for a second.

"Hmmm... what's the name of that stylist of theirs that dared mess up the royal coif last Wednesday?"

"I believe her named was Marcia."

"Oh, yeah! **OFF WITH THAT MUG'S HEAD! **And tell that owner she should be thankin' me for balancing her books and junk!"

The secretary made a note of that decision.

"Thirdly, some explorer came in this morning, wanting to give you this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Spirit Marble. It had the number '21' engraved on it.

"Another one? Put it in the vault wit' the others. As for the explorer..."

"I know," he said, already making a mark on the scroll, "**OFF WITH THAT MUG'S HEAD!**"

The princess smirked. "I like you, kid. You're goin' places!"

The secretary bowed. "Thank you, your highness."

"Anythin' else?"

"One more thing..."

Suddenly, the doors into the throne room burst open. Zoey trotted in, dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with her laser rifle.

"...Princess Zoey of Wawanakwa is requesting an audience with you ASAP."

"**ANNE MARIA!**"

Zoey raised her rifle and aimed it right at Anne Maria's head.

"**STAY AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND!**"

And with that, she pulled the trigger...

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

So we're at the halfway point. What do you guys think so far? By the end of this episode, more than half of the 'classic' cast and nearly the entire 'new' cast will have made an appearance. There are some great characters still yet to debut, including one familiar songstress who appears for the first time this 'season' tonight! Hope you're enjoying the ride, because things will get crazier and crazier from here on out!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 7 [33]: Off with That Mug's Head! (11.12.12)  
-**

Four hours ago...

Zoey was awakened by the sound of maniacal laughter. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see Scott standing at the cave entrance, chuckling like a madman. She hopped out of her sleeping bag and joined the boys, who were staring their adversary down.

"Just in time, princess!" bellowed Scott. "I'll give you one last chance... turn over these military dogs **AND **all of your Spirit Marbles to me, and I'll let you live."

"Sorry," Zoey answered without a second thought. "No deal!"

"Too bad. You and me, we would've made a great power couple. It would only take one night... we could find out if the carpet matches the drapes... heh heh..."

Zoey looked puzzled. "Wha?"

Mike got in front of the princess and pointed a finger threateningly at Scott.

"I don't know why you want to talk home design with the princess, but I'm not letting you put one fin-"

Mike suddenly stopped, unable to finish his thought. Not because he was tongue-tied, but because he began feeling an intense pain coming from his stomach. He dropped down to his knees as he clutched his belly.

"Ugh... aw man! What the..."

"**MIKE!**" Zoey exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"I... I don't know. It must've been something I ate!"

Zoey searched her bag for some sort of remedy. She found some medicine and offered it to Mike. Then, without warning, he swung his arm backwards and hit Zoey in the hand. That caused her to drop the bottle, which shattered upon hitting the ground.

"You whippersnapper!" grumbled Mike. "You tryin' to kill me?"

Zoey took a closer look at Mike, and gasped in shock. Mike suddenly had wrinkles all over his face. He struggled to keep his right eye open, and he was leaning forward thanks to his hunched back, which he tried to brace by putting a hand on his right side, just above his waist.

"Mike? Are you okay?"

"Mike? Kids these days, calling people by anything by their names! I'm Chester!"

"Chester?" queried Cameron. "No, you're Mike!"

'Chester' smacked Cameron, knocking him off of his feet and onto the cavern floor.

"Don't give me yap, you! Back in my day, backtalkers got 40 lashes!"

Cameron gulped in fear as Brick helped him up off the ground. Zoey turned to them, looking for answers.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know!" replied Brick. "In all this time we've been working under him, he's never acted like this, ma'am!"

Scott did not know what was going on, either, and he was not amused.

"What's he doing?" asked Scott. "Is he trying to get out of a fight? Get up, you!"

He tried to kick Mike, but 'Chester' had pretty good reflexes for someone his age. Chester grabbed Scott's leg in mid-kick and pulled it forward, causing the orange-haired teen to fall backwards and onto the ground.

"Don't interrupt someone when they're talkin'!" Chester shouted.

"But no one was..." Scott began to say, before stopping himself. "I don't know what you're babbling about, but enough stalling!"

Scott pulled out a brand spanking new Spirit Marble for the group to see.

"I just found this one this morning, and it smells like a total babe!"

He sniffed it, and immediately became intoxicated with the smell.

"What a freak," mumbled Zoey, under her breath.

"You're all going down," declared Scott, "in the name of the McLean Empire!"

* * *

And with that, the battle began. Zoey looked ready to go first, but Scott beat her to the punch.

"Prepare to meet your maker!" he shouted as he decided to use his Spirit Marble at the start.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 05, ready to summon!]_

Scott threw the marble at the ground. Once the smoke cleared, a beautiful blonde bombshell dressed like a pop star appeared, with a microphone in hand.

_[Lindsay, the Dumb Princess! She is a spirit! Keep your pants on!]_

"In the name of the moon, I will sing my heart out!" she declared.

With that, Scott smiled in delight, anxious to see what Lindsay could do.

_[Lindsay's Attacks... Number 1! Sing!]_

Immediately, Lindsay broke out in song.

"'California girls, we're unforgettable, West Coast represent, now put your hands up! Oooooh oh oooooh!'"

The attack did not do any damage, and in fact, it completely missed 'Chester' and Zoey. Brick and Cameron, on the other hand...

_[Brick may be confused.  
Cameron may be confused.]_

Lindsay took a bow and then flew off, leaving the battlefield. Not wasting any time, Princess Zoey pulled out her Spirit Marble - which Mike had apparently changed without her knowledge - and prepared to use it.

"This is my planet, and I will do everything I need to in order to protect it!"

With that, Zoey activated her marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 11, ready to summon!  
Bridgette, the Surfer Girl! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Bridgette emerged, with her surfboard in hand.

"You can't use her!" Scott shouted angrily. "She's mine!"

"We won her fair and square from you last time," Zoey snapped back. "Deal with it!"

Zoey then ordered Bridgette to attack her former master.

_[Bridgette's Attacks... Number 2! Board of You!]_

"Sorry!" Bridgette apologized beforehand.

Bridgette ran up to Scott. Stopping in front of him, she pulled her surfboard back. Then, using it like a baseball bat, she swung at Scott and smacked him dead on in the head, sending him flying off the battlefield...

_[Mike, Zoey, Brick, and Cameron each received 174 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Zoey leveled up!  
Cameron leveled up!  
Party received 1400 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 05 - Lindsay!]_

* * *

Scott went flying out of the cave and over the cliffside, presumably never to be seen again. Zoey, Brick, and Cameron ran out to make sure of it.

"Can anyone survive a fall like that?" Zoey asked.

"Not unless he has nine lives," Cameron answered, albeit half-jokingly.

They started to walk back towards the cave, but were surprised when they saw four armored knights run out, one of which was now wearing her helmet, thus revealing that she was Lizzy, or Mizzy, or someone that resembled them. They were holding a wooden gurney, on which 'Chester,' aka Mike, was lying on. He was fidgeting to and fro, as if in the midst of a small seizure.

"Leggo, you whippersnappers!"

They climbed into a covered carriage. As the gang ran after them, Zoey spotted two symbols on the side of the carriage. One was a red cross, indicating that it was a medical transport unit. The other was a block-lettered 'J,' which indicated which kingdom it was from.

That 'J' made Zoey pause and give up the chase. The horse-drawn carriage slowly started moving off, continuing towards the nearby peak of the path before passing over the top and heading down into the walled town on the other side of the Crash Mountains. Brick and Cameron had tried to catch it, but they were not fast enough to do so before it got to the top.

Once on the other side of the hill, it was impossible to catch it on foot.

"Now what?" asked Cameron.

"Those guys just took Mike," stated Brick, "and we don't know where they're going."

"I do..." Zoey cut in, from behind them.

The two boys spun around and, to their shock, Zoey was riding a horse.

"That was a medic unit, which kinda appear out of the blue from time to time, looking for sick people. Mike will be fine. He's being taken to Joisey. Great healthcare. Horrible princess."

"Where did you get the horse?" asked Brick.

Zoey pointed off to the side, where some loyal subjects had or were going to give up their horses for her use.

"They recognized me and immediately offered up their horses!"

She waved at her subjects to bring over the other two horses. They then helped Cameron get aboard one of them, while Brick managed to mount himself on his horse. Once they were all set, Zoey signaled for them to follow.

"Come on! The second Mike gets out, we're getting him out of there!"

"Why? What's wrong with Joisey?"

Zoey's eyes narrowed. "You'll see, Cam. You'll see."

* * *

Princess Zoey, Brick, and Cameron rode towards the town gates. The drawbridge was down, as it normally was during the day, but two guards with lances were patrolling the entrance. They came to attention and started to walk towards each other, all until they were in the middle of the path, blocking the way. A third guard emerged from behind the gate, holding up his arm to signal for Zoey and the others to stop.

The princess complied, stopping right in front of the drawbridge. She hopped off of her steed and walked towards the oncoming guard, as Brick and Cameron stopped their horses next to Zoey's.

"I am Zoey, ruler of Wawanakwa," the redhead barked before the guard could even get in a word, "and I request an audience with Princess Anne Maria!"

"Sorry, Princess Zoey, but even you can't just walk into Joisey without advance notice."

Zoey grabbed the guard by the armor and pulled him towards her.

"Listen, you! My friend was found injured by your highness' cronies and was taken inside your gates to receive medical attention! That friend is a member of **MY** royal army, and therefore, I have unrestricted rights to see him! If you don't tell Anne Maria that I'm here to see him, I'll make sure you all **LOSE YOUR HEADS**!"

The guard gulped, and then nodded in compliance. Zoey released her grip on him, allowing him to turn and address the others.

"Well, what are you waiting for, you dolts? Contact the royal highness!"

Zoey had a smirk on her face as she walked back to her horse. Brick and Cameron, the latter especially, were surprised that Zoey had gotten her way so easily.

"What can I say? Princesses aren't supposed to have the word 'pushover' in their vocab."

The three trotted into town, letting the local militia escort them to the castle.

* * *

Once at the castle, the trio dismounted. They prepared their laser rifles, just in case.

"Is this completely necessary?" questioned Cameron.

"I don't have time to explain our long, complicated history," replied Zoey. "All you need to know is that Anne Maria and I really, really, **REALLY **hate each other."

With that, they headed inside. Normally, the guards were trained to stop anyone bearing arms upon entrance. But unlike Brick and Cameron, they did know of the rivalry between Zoey and Anne Maria, and so they decided to just stand there and not do anything.

"Why are all the princesses on this planet so scary?" asked one of the guards after Zoey and her team had passed them by.

A second guard put a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me... you're better off not knowing."

* * *

They reached the large set of double doors leading into the throne room. Again, the trio checked their laser rifles to ensure they were ready to go. Zoey then pointed at the doors. The boys nodded, and then proceeded to kick the doors down. Once they were down, Zoey walked in, with her rifle drawn.

"**ANNE MARIA!**"

Zoey raised her rifle and aimed it right at Anne Maria's head.

"**STAY AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND!**"

And with that, she pulled the trigger. It was meant as a warning shot, but because her aim was a little off, it ended up nipping a part of Anne Maria's hairdo.

"What the blabbity-blab are you talking about, Red? And how **DARE **you shoot my beautiful hair!"

"Normally, I'd apologize, but **NOT THIS TIME**! You have something that belongs to me and I want him back!"

Cameron leaned over to whisper to Brick. "Since when did Mike belong to her?"

"I don't have anythin' that belongs ta you!"

Zoey reloaded and aimed at Anne Maria's head once more.

"Mike! Your floozies found him a little while ago and brought him here to be looked at by your medics!"

"Pfft... again, don't know what you talkin' 'bout, Red! Only one guy's been brought in today."

Anne Maria snapped her fingers, and that was the royal secretary's cue to run off to retrieve him. Everyone waited for him to return, which he did a minute later. But he was not alone. Mike was with him. He also, for some reason, did not have a shirt on.

"**MIKE!**" Zoey, Brick, and Cameron shouted, in relief.

Mike turned towards the trio, a bit confused as to why they were happy to see him. He then, to their dismay, walked over to Anne Maria, kneeling before her.

"Hey hey, princess! Did you summon me?"

Anne Maria giggled. "Oh, yes, I did, my new Captain of the Royal Guard, Vito!"

Brick took a step towards the throne. "Uh, sir? Are you okay?"

"Why did she call him Vito?" Cameron asked Zoey. "That's clearly Mike!"

Zoey pointed accusingly at Anne Maria. "Did you brainwash him?"

"Why would I do that? So much work, settin' up da machine, gatherin' da energy to actually turn dat thing on... totally not worth it. 'Sides, that what he says 'is name is."

She then began to run a hand seductively up and down his chest.

"And I must say, this boy's all that and **TWO **bags of chips!"

Zoey turned to Mike, trying to convince him that he was being duped.

"Mike! You have to get away from Anne Maria! She's a no-good something-or-rather that wants nothing but to take my crown!"

Mike, or rather, Vito, responded. "**'EY! **Don't know who this Mike fella is, babe, but lemme tell you ladies... there's plenty of Vito to go around, if you catch my drift."

He winked at Zoey. Anne Maria laughed with glee.

"Sorry, Red, but Vito's mine!"

"But he's mine!" Zoey shouted, not caring about the context of her words.

"Really? Well, how 'bout we make a wager on it? We battle, yo, and da winnah gets Vito here."

"**MIKE!**"

"Mike, Vito, whatevs. Three-on-three, Red... you and your guys versus me and my guys. Winner takes all!"

Vito and the royal secretary joined Anne Maria by the throne. The secretary pulled out the three Spirit Marbles that he had put in the vault earlier. The princess chose two for herself, leaving the last one for the secretary. She kept both for herself as Vito pulled out the marble he had on him.

"Hold on!" objected Cameron. "One single person can't use more than one Spirit Marble in a battle!"

Anne Maria smiled as she slipped on a pair of brass knuckles onto her right hand.

"Wit' this, I can!"

Brick turned to Zoey. "Princess, can she do that?"

"Why are you asking me? I keep telling you, there's a lot about these things I don't know!"

Cameron sighed. "This isn't fair."

And with that, the three-on-three battle began...

* * *

Vito was the first to act. He pulled out his laser rifle and fired it at Zoey.

"**OW!**" cried Zoey, being hit with '20' damage. "That hurt, Mike!"

"I keep telling you, babe, my name's Vito!" he shouted in response.

_[Helios]_

Zoey spent her turn casting a healing spell on herself. But she only recovered '9' life points. The royal secretary took his turn next, as he threw his Spirit Marble down to the ground.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 02, ready to summon!  
DJ, the Brickhouse with Heart! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Hi, everyone!" DJ greeted happily.

_[DJ seems to be waiting.]_

DJ hovered over the battlefield, deciding not to do anything for the moment. Anne Maria was next, and she too decided to use a Spirit Marble.

"Get off my beach, you posers!" she shouted.

"But we're not even on a beach!" cried Cameron.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 21, ready to summon!  
Justin, the Eye Candy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Justin came out, ripping his shirt off immediately upon summoning. Vito gave him two thumbs up.

"Nice choice!" he told Anne Maria.

Justin flexed his muscles as his master grinned in delight.

"Oh ho! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! You guys are dead!"

_[Justin's Attacks... Number 1! Admire Me!]_

Justin cast a spell on the battlefield. The female narrator explained what was going on.

_[All female spirits are prevented from being summoned for 1 turn!]_

That was bad, as Brick began his turn with the intent of summoning Gwen. But Justin's spell prevented him from doing so. As Justin left, Brick had to choose a different course of action. In the end, he decided to use his laser rifle. He fired a shot at the secretary, resulting in a '35' point hit.

"..." gulped the secretary.

"Don't give up now!" growled Anne Maria. "Or else!"

Meanwhile, Cameron charged up for his most powerful attack.

_[Cameron is preparing to attack.]_

Not sure of what was coming, Zoey used her second turn to heal herself again.

_[Helios]_

Vito responded by pulling out his Spirit Marble and using it.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 19, ready to summon!  
Owen, the Party Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"I am Owen! Hear me roar! **MEOW!**"

_[Owen's Attacks... Number 3! Belly Flop!]_

Owen jumped high into the air. While airborne, he picked between three targets: Zoey, Brick, or Cameron. At random, he chose to land on Brick, crashing into him belly-first and flattening him instantaneously. It was a one-hit KO move, meaning that Brick was out.

"**BRICK!**" screamed Zoey. "**NO!**"

Satisfied with his work, Owen was ready to leave. But...

_[DJ's Attacks... Number 1! Helping Hand!]_

DJ cast a spell, aiming it at Owen. The spell allowed Owen to go again. DJ left the battlefield, and again Owen attacked.

_[Owen's Attacks... Number 3! Belly Flop!]_

This time, Owen landed on Cameron. With the attack successful, Cameron too was defeated. That left Zoey alone and at a huge disadvantage. And as Owen left the field, Anne Maria licked her lips in anticipation.

It was her turn.

_[The effects of the summoning prevention spell have worn off.]_

"It's over!" she declared.

Anne Maria summoned her second spirit, this time using a marble with the number '16' on it.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 16, ready to summon!  
Ezekiel, the Homeschooled Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Upon summoning, Ezekiel did not even wait for the command to attack. He pulled out a scythe and immediately charged at Zoey.

_[Ezekiel's Attacks... Number 1! Early Exit!]_

"Yeah!" shouted Anne Maria. "**OFF WITH THAT MUG'S HEAD!**"

"Blarg!" grunted Ezekiel, which basically translated to 'Say good night!'

Princess Zoey could do nothing as Ezekiel swung his scythe, intending to slice her head clear off of her shoulders.

***** To be continued... *****


	8. Eight What?

Zoey found herself floating in a white space of nothingness. She turned her head one way, then the other, searching for anything or anyone other than herself.

Suddenly...

_[Zoey...]_

Zoey snapped to attention as she tried to figure out who was calling her, and where that person was. Again, the voice called out to her.

_[Zoey...]_

"Hello? Who's there?"

_[A friend, Zoey. A friend.]_

Zoey suddenly came to a realization.

"Wait! Does this mean... I... and you as well..."

_[No. This is not, and we are not...]_

Zoey looked upwards, towards an imaginary ceiling.

"What happened to you? The last time I saw you..."

_[I know. I hate to say it, but I'm starting to believe that Scott has betrayed us.]_

"Kinda late on the uptake, girl."

_[Only you can stop them, Princess! You must find the eight...]_

The voice faded away before she could finish her sentence.

"The eight? Eight what? And when will I get to see you again?"

Zoey listened for a response, but there was.

"Hello? **HELLO!** How do I get out of here?"

* * *

Zoey opened her eyes, and saw that Ezekiel's face was just inches away from hers. He had a murderous look on his face, and that made Zoey remember that he was trying to cut her head off. But, to her relief, as her eyes darted down and to her right, Ezekiel had missed, and his scythe was planted firmly in the ground.

Seeing that he had failed, Ezekiel sneered before rising upwards towards the ceiling, disappearing from battle. The second he was completely off of the field, his scythe dematerialized as well.

"He missed?" questioned Anna Marie. "**HOW?**"

Anna Marie's secretary pulled out a pocket laser pistol, which he used to shoot Zoey. The hit resulted in '24' points of damage...

"**OUCH!**" cried Zoey.

She started gasping for breath as she clutched her left arm with her right hand. She was down to '1' life point, but it was now her turn.

She just hoped it was not her last.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

And with that cold open, here's a plot-advancement episode! Oh, and the conclusion of the party's battle with Anna Marie. 'Cause that's important too.

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 8 [34]: Eight What? (11.19.12)  
-**

Zoey pulled out a bottle of Strawberry Sauce and threw it at Brick. He was revived instantaneously, and he got back to his feet.

"Thanks!" he said in return.

Vito growled. "What's all this then?"

He raised his laser rifle and fired at Brick. It only did '7' damage.

"Hmph," huffed Brick. "Is that all you got?"

Princess Anna Marie charged for Brick, giving him a hard slap across the face with her right hand. Again, though, the damage was minimal, as it cost him '3' life points. The secretary aimed at Princess Zoey, in another attempt to take her out. But she dodged it.

Brick pulled out Gwen's marble, contemplating whether to summon her or not. After a few seconds, he put it back into his pocket and instead pulled out a Strawberry Sauce from his pack in order to bring Cameron back to life.

"I'm alive again!" he squeaked.

Cameron pulled out the Spirit Marble he had equipped.

"This one? But..."

He was just learning that Mike had changed his out since their last battle. Despite that, he decided to use it anyway.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 10, ready to summon!]_

"I can do this!" Cameron told himself.

He tossed the marble hard at the ground. Trent emerged from the resulting smoke cloud a few seconds later.

_[Trent, the Cool Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Alright," Trent said coolly. "What can I help you with, man?"

_[Trent's Attacks... Number 1! Tune Up!]_

Trent pulled out his guitar and played a few chords. A few seconds later, Brick was engulfed in an orange pillar of light.

_[Brick's attack power increased!]_

The pillar disappeared and so did Trent. But the stat boost effect stayed. Zoey used her turn to heal herself, as she pulled out a bottle of Crystal Juice and downed it in one gulp. She restored '50' life points, which was more than enough.

Vito was next to go, but he suddenly clutched his stomach in pain.

"What's wrong?" Zoey asked, concerned.

"I knew I had one too many Coney Isles," Vito grumbled, although that was not the real reason why he was hurting.

_[Vito is unable to move!]_

Anna Marie charged forward and slapped Brick for the second consecutive turn. Her secretary pulled out a Crystal Juice and used it on his princess. But it was pretty much wasted, since she had not been hit yet in the battle.

"Thanks!" she complimented anyway, unaware of that fact.

Brick once more reached for Gwen's marble, but this time, it was not a fake out. He was summoning her.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 03, ready to summon!  
Gwen, the Loner! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Gwen, for once, seemed enthusiastic to battle.

_[Gwen's Attacks... Number 2! B.T.T.H.]_

Gwen charged at Anna Marie's secretary and promptly gave him a hard boot to the head! The hit resulted in him taking '27' points of damage. Gwen smirked, pleased with her work, before departing the battle. The secretary, meanwhile, shook his head in dismay.

"..."

He then ran from the battle.

"**HEY!**" yelled Anna Marie. "Come back here, you twit!"

Cameron and Zoey used their turns to attack Anna Marie with well-aimed laser shots, causing '8' and '13' damage, respectively. Vito, meanwhile, was back in fighting form after his stomach stopped aching, and he took another shot at Zoey.

"Why, Mike, why?" cried Zoey, after taking the '20' point hit.

Next up...

"Oh, you're gonna get it now," said Anna Marie, with a grin on her face.

_[Anna Marie is preparing to attack.]_

Brick fired at Anna Marie and got a critical hit, as she lost '40' life points as a result of the shot.

"I swear," she said, "I'm winnin' this! And when I do... **OFF WITH ALL YOU MUG'S HEADS!**"

Zoey took out a Spirit Marble and used it.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 17, ready to summon!]_

"Please help me, wise spirit!" Zoey begged.

A few seconds later, the spirit inside Number 17 emerged.

_[Cody, the Geek! He is a spirit! He's not wearing underwear!]_

"Why do you insist on telling people that?" Cody questioned, as he blushed red.

He pulled out a red rubber ball and prepared to attack.

_[Cody's Attacks... Number 1! Weapon of Destiny!]_

"Here goes everything!" Cody exclaimed.

He reared back and threw the red ball right at Anna Marie's face. It hit her dead-on, causing a whopping '4' points of damage.

_[Anna Marie has been inflicted with Rage status.]_

"Uh oh," gulped Cody. "Time to go!"

With that, Cody fled the scene. Cameron spent his turn taking another shot at Anna Marie, trying to whittle down her HP a little more. Vito, meanwhile, clutched his stomach as it started to act up once again.

"Hang in there, Mike!" shouted Cameron.

"For the last time, that's **NOT** my name!" barked Vito.

_[Vito is unable to move!]_

With that, it was Anna Marie's turn.

"Never, never, **EVER** doubt the power of the poof!"

_[Hairspray Overdose]_

Anna Marie pulled out an aerosol hairspray can and used it on her hair. As she did, chemicals sprayed out, quickly spreading all over the battlefield.

_[Zoey has been poisoned!  
Brick has been poisoned!  
Cameron has been poisoned!  
Vito has been poisoned!]_

Everyone on the battlefield except for Anna Marie herself had been poisoned as the result of her using the entire can in one go. She then tossed the can aside without even a second thought.

"There! Much better!"

Brick decided to spend his turn helping out Zoey. He pulled out a black bottle labeled Sick-B-Gone, and tossed it at the redhead. She caught it and downed the contents in a matter of seconds.

_[Zoey has been cured of poison!]_

But in return for healing someone other than himself, Brick took poison damage instead, as a '7' appeared above his head. Zoey was next, and she took aim at Anna Marie.

"I'm taking the shot, and who cares if you're not okay with it!"

She fired, zapping away the last of her rival's life points.

"Are you kiddin' me?" questioned Anna Marie. "Do you know who I am? I am the Princess of Joisey! Nobody be disrespecting Joisey!"

"We beat you fair and square," Zoey said, "so give up Mike **AND **your Spirit Marbles!"

"**FINE!** These thangs were useless, anyway."

_[Zoey, Brick, and Cameron each received 185 EXP.  
Zoey leveled up!  
Brick leveled up!  
Cameron leveled up twice!  
Party received 3000 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 02 - DJ!  
Party received Marble 16 - Ezekiel!  
Party received Marble 21 - Justin!]_

* * *

After the battle, the royal secretary, who had since returned, was holding out a pillow with the three Spirit Marbles his princess' team used in the battle. Zoey smiled as she took them and placed them in her case.

"Wait!" Anna Marie spoke up.

Zoey turned to her rival. Anna Marie took off the brass knuckles she had put on prior to the battle, and offered it to the redhead.

"You didn't earn it, but without any of them marbles, I gots no use for it. Yeah, that's it! I'm not giving it 'cause I believe you're the one true monarch of the entire planet or anythin'. I fig there will be a day when your crown will be rightfully mine."

"Um, okay? I guess I'll take that as a compliment."

_[Party received the Double Wielder.]_

Suddenly, everyone's attention turned to Vito, who shook his head as if he had something in it that needed getting rid of.

"Ugh. What happened? And where are we?"

Zoey smiled upon hearing Mike's voice.

"**MIKE!**"

She ran over and quickly hugged him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body against his. Mike blushed.

"Okay, it's really going to suck if someone tells me I got to first base even though I don't remember it!"

"Yep," Zoey said with a smile. "Mike's back."

Zoey let go, giving Brick and Cameron a chance to hug Mike in relief.

"I, uh, we missed you," Cameron said, quickly correcting himself.

"Didn't know how we'd complete our mission without you, sir," stated Brick, in relief.

Anna Marie was confused.

"But... you said your name was Vito!"

"No," Mike denied. "It's Mike!"

"You... you mean you lied to a princess?"

"Huh? I don't remember lying about that!"

"Hmmm..." Zoey thought aloud. "Say, Mike? This morning, you were responding to the name Chester. Does that ring a bell?"

Mike chuckled. "What kind of name is Chester? C'mon, Zo, that's hilarious!"

The party members all looked at each other. Now they were confused.

"Does he really not remember?" thought Cameron.

Zoey looked at Mike again.

"Mike! Do you remember **ANYTHING **that happened today?"

Mike looked towards the ceiling, as he tried to recall the day's events.

"I remember waking up. Then Scott seeing us and challenging us to battle. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by medics in a moving carriage of some sort. Then..."

* * *

An hour ago, in the castle infirmary...

Mike was lying on a table, half-conscious as a nurse stood to his left, making some notes on a clipboard. Once he was done, he walked out of the room. The second he left, a red-haired doctor in scrubs walked in.

"My name is Doctor Bizzy," she said, "and everything will be fine once you take this medicine!"

She opened Mike's mouth with one hand and placed a green-colored lima bean inside it with her other. She then forcefully made Mike chew until he could swallow it.

"There you go! You're as crazy as me now! **HA!**"

With that, she left.

* * *

"Hold on one hair pickin' minute!" objected Anna Marie. "What female doctor? I have no stinkin' other women on staff!"

"Huh?" Zoey asked, surprised.

"I mean, why would I? If some beautiful prince were to come to try and sweeps me off my feet, I didn't want some other kook outshining me! That's why I only employ men!"

"Then..." Mike wondered, "who was she?"

Anna Marie shrugged. "I dunno. Some floozy lookin' for a cheap one-timer?"

Mike gasped. "Don't... don't even joke about that!"

Zoey looks around the throne room, and then suddenly makes a decision.

"It's been a long day, guys. Perhaps we should get some rest and resume our journey in the morning."

That made both Anna Marie and Cameron freak out.

"You can't stay here! Joisey is **MY **domain! I rule this kingdom!"

"Besides," Cameron added, "you said you didn't like this place!"

"I don't, Cam," Zoey said to him, before turning to Anna Marie. "But Mike's sudden memory loss and recurring stomach aches have me concerned. Besides, we need to figure out our next course of action before moving on. Oh, and Anna Marie? You may be the princess of Joisey, but I'm the princess of everything! If I ask you to do something, you have to comply."

Anna Marie sighed. "Fine. But if some prince trots through them doors while you're here, I call dibs! Got it?"

Zoey nodded. "I see no problem with that."

With that, the royal secretary led Princess Zoey and the others towards the guest chambers.

* * *

That evening...

Zoey was sitting alone in the castle library, which was illuminated only by candelabra with three lit candles in it. Her eyes were reading from a brown, hardcover book, while several more sat on the table in front of her in two piles: ones she had already gone through, and ones she still had to.

The royal secretary appeared, rolling up a cart that had about 30 scrolls or so on it.

"Here's all the news reports on Spirit Marble sightings and the Intergalactic War that I could get on short notice, Princess Zoey. I should warn you, most of these are based on rumors, at best."

"That will be fine," Zoey said in reply. "You did well for such short notice."

He bowed before her. "Thank you."

He started to head out, leaving the cart behind. But he stopped, remembering something.

"Oh! Princess, the one who calls himself Mike wishes to speak with you."

"Yes. Let him in."

With that, he exited the room. A few seconds later, Mike came in. He sat down next to Zoey, but she did not immediately acknowledge him, as she was intently focused on finishing the page she was on first.

Mike decided to break the silence beforehand.

"So... what are you up to?"

Zoey stopped, deciding to immediately tell Mike about the strange vision she had during the battle with Anna Marie.

"She was the other researcher in your group, wasn't she?" asked Mike, connecting the vision to Zoey's earlier story.

"Yes. At the bare minimum, I'm grateful that she's still alive. But that doesn't mean I think she's okay. I have to find out what happened to her."

"So that's why you're here being a bookworm? To get clues as to her whereabouts?"

Zoey shook her head.

"The last couple of days have revealed a lot more information about the Spirit Marbles than I was initially aware of. I feel I can't be an effective guide in this hunt unless I know what's truth and what isn't."

Mike reached for the cart and grabbed a scroll at random. He unfurled it and quickly scanned it. Once he was done, he spoke up again.

"I just realized, what will we do with the Spirit Marbles once we obtain them all?"

"That's the confusing part. Call it a hunch, but I'm not sure if we need all of them."

That revelation made Mike do a double take.

"R-really?"

"In my vision, my friend said that we need to get eight..."

"Eight? Eight what?"

"I don't know. But I think she means eight Spirit Marbles."

"Well, that's good. We already have more than eight."

"Yeah, but... there are 24 in total, remember? I have a feeling that it can't be just any eight random Spirit Marbles. There's a specific eight that we need."

"Okay, okay. Let's say your friend knows what she's talking about. Then which eight do we need, and how many of them do we already have?"

Zoey went silent, as she did not have an answer for him. She frowned, sad that she was unable to do so.

"Don't worry, Princess!" Mike assured her. "I'm sure you'll figure it out with time."

But Zoey still was not convinced.

"I'm not so sure time is a luxury we can afford to play with."

Mike got up, patted Zoey on the shoulder, and then headed for the library exit, leaving the redhead to continue her research alone. Zoey was silent for a few minutes, as she found her place in the book and continued to read on.

She then stopped, as she had a thought she had to get off of her chest.

"It's times like these I wish the old research team was back together."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in space, aboard the McLean Army space cruiser Orange Fox...

"Stupid Chris," Scott grumbled under his breath, as he walked down the hallway with a tray full of food. "If he thinks getting rid of Princess Immadorka and her Hatchet Army bodyguards is that easy, why doesn't he just face them himself? Why does he keep sending me to do his dirty work?"

He let out a sigh... and then started smiling.

"Then again, he never said I couldn't send someone else to do it."

He reached his destination, and pressed a button on the wall, which made the door slide upwards. That allowed him passage into the room.

"Hello, my lovely concubine! I'm here with dinner that I cooked myself! Well, the microwave actually did the cooking, but you get the idea..."

From the dark corner of the room, a young blonde girl stepped out. It was Dawn. She was not wearing much, as her clothes were made completely out of leaves. All the inappropriate parts of her body were covered, if just barely. In fact, her skirt was so short that bending over ever so slightly would allow anyone to look up it.

And that excited Scott every time he laid eyes on her.

"Thank you, Master, for feeding me!" Dawn said cheerfully. "It's nice to know you care to give one good meal a day!"

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, Dawn, remember that promise we made?"

Dawn's face lit up. "You mean... we will..."

Scott nodded. "Uh huh! I just need you to do one thing for me."

Dawn sat down on the bench in her room and watched as Scott placed the tray into her lap.

"I'll do anything you want for the nookie."

"Uh huh."

"The nookie."

"Go on."

Dawn picked up the chocolate chip cookie on her tray and held it up, tilting it towards Scott.

"So you can take this cookie, and stick it up your..."

"**WHOA, WHOA!**" Scott stopped her. "That cookie will look better in your mouth."

Dawn shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She then took a bite out of it. Her eyes flashed red for a second, and then returned to normal. Scott pulled a manila folder out of nowhere, placed it on the bench next to Dawn, and then he gently rubbed the inside of Dawn's left leg, just above the knee. Dawn quivered at the touch of Scott's fingers against her skin.

"You leave first thing in the morning. Complete this mission, and tomorrow night, I'm all yours, babe."

Dawn giggled like a schoolgirl as Scott moved away and headed for the door. Once there, he stopped to take one last look at Dawn before leaving. He closed the door behind him, and, as he walked back to the bridge, he started wringing his hands in joyful anticipation.

"Tomorrow, you're gonna make Red wish you never came back into her life. **MWA HA HA HA HA HA!**"

***** To be continued... *****


	9. A Total Jessica

_[Zoey... Zoey!]_

Zoey found herself in the white space of nothingness once again.

_[You must find the eight, Zoey! The eight!]_

"You're talking about the Spirit Marbles, right? Which eight of them are you talking about?"

_[You have to figure it out.]_

"Why can't you just tell me?"

_[Because we're contracted to do 13 episodes and this is only the ninth.]_

"Just 'cause you're psychic doesn't mean you can break the fourth wall whenever you want!"

_[I'm doing this voice...]_

"You don't care, do you?"

_[...from my own house...]_

"Uh huh..."

_[...and I'm getting paid $20 an hour!]_

"**WHAT?** I'm not sure if Canada has a minimum wage, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting paid less than it! **AND I'M THE LEAD FEMALE IN THIS!**"

_[Did I mention my VA did work for 'Dragon Ball GT?'?]_

"Mine was in 'Zixx!' In fact, my VA **WAS** Zixx! How am I getting paid this low?"

_[Find the eight...]_

"Don't change the subject!"

_[Bye, Zoey!]_

"You end this dream right now, and I swear I'll..."

* * *

Zoey sat up quickly, panting heavily as she came to. The clock on the nightstand next to her bed read 7:30 a.m. She had been asleep in the royal guest bed at Castle Joisey, having an odd dream about an old friend.

"Now I suddenly remember why I waited so long before trying to find her..."

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

There's a little bit of a reunion in this one, but will it be all hugs or will one threaten to kill the other? Well, you probably know what the answer is, but let's just let things play out, okay?

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 9 [35]: A Total Jessica (11.26.12)  
-**

Princess Zoey and Princess Anna Marie were walking onto the drawbridge leading out from the northside gate out of the Joisey.

"Thanks for letting us stay overnight," Zoey thanked her.

"Like I had a choice?" snapped back Anna Marie.

"Got some really great information from your library, and now I know that our next stop should be Chilly Corona Chasm! The locals have said several Spirit Marbles have appeared up there. I chatted with the mayor, and he would be glad to hand them over the ones they've found when we get there."

"That explains the get-up."

Anna Marie was pointing out that Zoey was now wearing a brown faux-fur coat, which she had on over the royal Wawanakwa winter outfit, which consisted of a red sweater and tan-colored snow pants.

"You couldn't even spring for the real deal?"

"An old friend of mine was this high-level animal lover, heh. She'd have my head if I ever ran into her wearing real fur."

"And what about dem?"

She pointed at the boys, who were at the far end of the drawbridge. They were all dressed as furries, minus the head pieces. Mike was a horse, Brick was a dog, and Cameron was a tiger.

"**DAMN YOU, FORESHADOWING!**" Mike screamed, shaking his fist at no one in particular.

Cameron rubbed his face against his left arm.

"Well, at least we'll be warm," he stated, looking on the brighter side of things. "And it could've been a lot worse."

"Please don't remind me how it could be worse..."

* * *

An hour ago, at the Joisey location of Izzy's Backwater Emporium...

"So," asked Rizzy, an Izzy lookalike with pink hair, "whatcha think?"

Zoey was seen trying to contain her laughter as the boys unhappily presented themselves before the girls wearing matching itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polkadot bikinis. Rizzy, too, was snickering as she asked the boys a question.

"That is you wearing that for the first time today?"

"**NO ONE UNDER 55 IS GOING TO GET THIS REFERENCE!**" Mike yelled.

* * *

"**I TOLD YOU NOT TO REMIND ME!**" Mike yelled, as he grabbed Cameron and tried to give him a noogie.

Brick, meanwhile, looked at his commanding officer in dismay.

"Uh, sir, I know I signed up for a lot of things when I joined the space army... but I never thought this would be one of them."

"Chill," Mike said, letting go of Cameron and then putting a hand on Mike's shoulder. "If everything goes as plan, we'll only be wearing these things for one episode."

The three boys helped Zoey get on her hose, and then proceeded to hop onto their own.

"Thanks again for everything, Anna Marie!"

"Yeah, whatevs. Promise if you die on dis quest of yours, I get your castle?"

Zoey scoffed. "I'm not making that promise!"

"**FINE! **I didn't want to do any more scenes in this here stupid parody anyway..."

Anna Marie headed back across the bridge and into her kingdom as Zoey and the guys rode northwards, towards Chilly Corona Chasm.

* * *

The ascent to Chilly Corona Chasm was nowhere near as steep as the one up to the Crash Mountains, though it was longer. As they proceeded higher and higher up, snow flurries began to fall from above. They also started to get attacked by the local wildlife, which were very territorial. Still, they were not much of a problem for the party to handle.

As they continued their ascension, though, conditions continued to worsen. The temperature was dropping in spite of it being late in the morning. The snow flurries had turned into snowflakes, and were falling at a much steadier rate. As a result, when they got to a part of the trail where the snow was not only sticking to the ground, but starting to pile up, the horses began to acting out.

"We have to push on," Zoey thought aloud, "but..."

Mike rode up beside her and grabbed her right hand with his left.

"...we've got to do what we've got to do."

* * *

Mike, Zoey, Brick, and Cameron were sitting around a small campfire, polishing the last of the meat off of some bones.

"Oh, that was good," Mike said, smiling as he patted his stomach.

"As good of a lunch that was," cut in Cameron, "what are we going to do with them?"

He pointed to their four horses, which were shivering in the cold.

"Oh, right! Them. Hmmm..."

* * *

The four of them were seen each hitting their respective horses on the butt. In fright, the four horses ran off, heading back down the way they had come.

"So long, Britney!" Mike shouted.

"Take care of yourself, Christina!" exclaimed Zoey.

"Safe travels, Mandy!" barked Brick.

Cameron looked at all of them oddly.

"When did you all get time to name your horses?"

"You mean you didn't name yours, Cam?" questioned Mike. "Man, I thought we were supposed to be on the same page! Okay... I'll name 'er. Your horse's name was... Jessica! Yes, 'cause she was a total Jessica! Blonde, sings like a goddess, and so, so voluptuous..."

Mike and Brick seemed a bit uncomfortable about Mike's description...

"...I wouldn't mind some horse-on-horse action with that one."

...and Zoey was flat-out glaring at him, her face red with anger. Mike, confused about her reaction in particular, just had to ask...

"What?"

**SLAP!**

* * *

Snow continued to fall as the group continued to make their way up the trail. Brick led the way, followed by Princess Zoey, and then Cameron. He was looking back at Mike, who was trailing the group and trying to hold back tears as he rubbed at the red handprint Zoey had left on his left cheek.

Suddenly, the trail started to flatten out. In return, though, the wind picked up greatly, making it feel even colder. Ahead of them was Chilly Corona Chasm itself, which had a small rickety wooden plank bridge that served as the one way across.

Zoey pulled a map out of her pack and examined it.

"There should be a little town just on the other side of the chasm."

She confirmed it by pinpointing their location on the map, and then finding both the chasm and the aforementioned town, listed as the Town of Cold.

"Let's get going, then!" Brick told them. "The sooner we get out of the cold, the better!"

Zoey put the map away as Brick began the approach to the bridge. Zoey started to follow, but she suddenly tripped over something...

"Whoa..."

...and she fell face-first into the snow.

"**PRINCESS!**" Mike exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Zoey quickly lifted her face off the ground, allowing some of the snow to fall off.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, as she brushed the rest off with her hand.

"What did you trip over?" questioned Brick.

Everyone looked at where Zoey had just stepped, looking for a rock, twig, or some other object that might have been obscured by the snow.

"Wait a minute..." Cameron suddenly spoke up.

Cameron squatted down and reached into the snow.

_[Party received Marble ?]_

"It's a Spirit Marble!" shouted Mike.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious!" deadpanned Zoey.

She gently took the Spirit Marble from Cameron and then walked away, as she tried to brush it off and read the number on it.

"Sheesh," grumbled Mike, to Cameron. "I make one bad sex joke and the princess hates me. Why can't anyway take a joke these days?"

Zoey - ignoring Mike's rambling - had cleaned off the Spirit Marble successfully. But she still could not read the number on it. She waved over Brick to help her.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Can you make these numbers out?" she asked, holding it out in front of her.

Brick peered in deep for an examination. Apparently, the numbers had partially deteriorated away thanks to being buried in the snow for a long time.

"I think that's a two... and that's a zero! It must be number 20!"

Zoey turned the numbered face of the marble towards her. After a few seconds of looking at it, she was able to come to the same conclusion.

"You're right!"

"Okay, then," Cameron interrupted. "Which one is in Number 20?"

"**STOP RIGHT THERE!**"

The group spun around. Sam was standing there, dressed like a mountain man, complete with a thick beard. A beard which he promptly ripped off, as it was a fake.

"Man, that thing itches like the dickens!"

He scratched at the bottom of his chin as he trotted over to Princess Zoey.

"Okay, Princess Zoey! What have you done with my beloved?"

Zoey scratched her head. She did not know whom Sam was talking about.

"Beloved?"

"Dakota! What did you do to her?"

"Dakota? **NOTHING! **The last time we saw her was in the Crash Mountains! Remember, Sam, when the two of you stayed behind to delay the McLean Army for us?"

Brick got in between Sam and Zoey, in a move to protect the latter.

"What are you talking about, soldier? Your highness speaks the truth!"

"Then why do you have **THAT **marble?" questioned Sam. "You have yet to win that one in a rival battle!"

Zoey looked at the marble, and then back at Sam.

"This is Dakota's?"

"Yes! That is Spirit Marble 20, which holds the spirit of Courtney, the Type A! Her Earth-based powers and fierce competitive spirit makes her one of the most dangerous spirits in the group!"

"If it that's great, then she should've used it against me!"

"Why my Dakota refused to use her, I don't know. Nevertheless, that marble does not rightfully belong to you. But I'd be willing to battle you for possession of it, like all honorable people do."

Zoey motioned for the guys to come over to her, so that they could huddle and discuss their course of action.

Or, rather, ask Mike specifically as to what to do.

"Okay, Mike. What should we do?"

[What should Mike do?

Choose: Just give the marble back / Fight for it / Run off with it]

Mike made his decision.

"Run off with it!"

Zoey reached over and slapped Mike's other cheek.

"**OW!**"

"You know how bad that will make us look? Regardless of our mission, I'm not stooping so low as to steal a Spirit Marble from somebody?"

[What should Mike do?

Choose: Just give the marble back / Fight for it / Run off with it]

Mike made his decision.

"Just give the marble back."

Zoey reached over and slapped Mike's other other cheek.

"**OW!**"

"Why? Finders keepers, losers weepers!"

Mike sighed.

[What should Mike do?

Choose: Just give the marble back / Fight for it / Run off with it]

Mike made his decision.

"Fight for it."

Zoey sighed.

"Well... I suppose it **IS **the fair thing to do."

Zoey walked over to Sam.

"Okay, Sam. We have a deal. We'll battle. If we win, you give us Courtney. If you win, you can pick any one of our marbles."

"I accept your challenge!"

Zoey reached out to hand the Spirit Marble with Courtney in it back to Sam. Suddenly, an arrow flew in out of nowhere. It did not hit anybody, but it passed by just close enough to Zoey that she jumped back in fright, causing the marble to fall out of her hand and into the snow at her feet.

"Scotty's back!"

Zoey gasped as she looked behind Sam and saw Scott walking up the path.

"Wait, that's Scott?" Sam asked. "He doesn't look so tough."

Scott, with a bow in hand, fired a second arrow. This time, it hit someone... namely, Sam, as it lodged itself right into his left kneecap. He groaned in pain as he clutched the injured body part and went down to the ground.

"**ARGH!** No way, man! **UGH!**"

Scott laughed maniacally.

"All I wanted was to find out what happened to Dakota, and when I found her, I'd ask her to go out on a date with me! I used to be the stoutest warrior in the land, then I took an arrow to knee..."

Everyone groaned. Even Scott, who in addition rolled his eyes. Sam frowned.

"Come on! That took me a whole year to think up!"

Sam then promptly fainted. Scott passed by him, heading for Zoey. She, in turn, reached into the snow and pulled out the Spirit Marble. She was about to run off, but instead, she went over to the first arrow that Scott had shot, which was now sticking out of the snow nearby, at an angle. She plucked that as well.

"Just in case I wanna get my Katniss on..."

Mike shouted out to her. "Quick, Princess! Across the bridge!"

Zoey complied after pocketing the arrow, running past her fellow party members and beginning her crossing of the chasm. Cameron followed right after her, while Mike and Brick kept their eyes on Scott as they backed towards the bridge.

"I got it," Mike told Brick.

Brick nodded, and spun around to head across the bridge the right way. Scott stopped his approach so he could pull another arrow from his quiver to use.

"I'm not scared of you!" Mike shouted, even though his knees were knocking against each other.

"You should be!"

With that, Scott fired at Mike. He ducked, just in time to watch the arrow sail over his head and fly into the chasm, where gravity took over. Mike abandoned any thoughts of fighting Scott one-on-one as he spun around and chased after the others.

At that moment, the wind picked up even more. It grabbed a partial hold on the bridge and pushed it to and from, making it sway one way, and then the other. In fear, Cameron grabbed a hold of one of the support ropes and clutched it tightly.

"What are we going to do? We're going to die!"

Zoey wanted to slap some courage into Cameron, but her hand was getting red from hitting Mike numerous times.

"Just move carefully, Cam! We'll get across!"

Zoey was now about three-fourths of the way across, and could see a big rock waiting for them off to the right side, just past the end of the bridge. Zoey was elated, believing that they were going to make it.

And then her aforementioned old friend walked out from behind the rock, wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit over a layer of sheer clothing that was adorned with star patterns. Zoey gasped upon seeing her.

"No way... you really are alive! **DAWN!**"

Dawn had a smirk on her face, but Zoey could not quite see it from where she was standing.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Dawn! And good thing, 'cause we have a lot to talk about. Like, why are you getting paid **SO**much more than me for this gig?"

Dawn pulled out an axe from behind her back. Zoey started to have second thoughts.

"Okay... how about we discuss it **AFTER **I get over to you first, okay?"

Her eyes then flashed red. It was only for a brief second, but it was long enough for Zoey to catch sight of it.

"Dawn? Are... are you alright? Because the red thing... I think you need to get your eyes checked."

"Uh, your highness?" cut in Brick. "I don't like the look on her face. Or the sharpness of the blade on that axe."

Dawn approached one of the two support ropes holding the bridge up on that side of the chasm. She was preparing to cut it with the axe...

"**STOP!**"

The foursome on the bridge looked back at Scott, who was standing near the pair of support ropes on his side.

"If you kill them that way, it will be harder to get their Spirit Marbles! Challenge them to a battle!"

Everyone turned their heads back towards Dawn, waiting for her to respond.

"I hear and obey you, Master!" she replied, meekly.

Dawn released her grip on her axe, letting it fall to the ground. As she approached the bridge, the rest of the guys caught up to Zoey.

"Show 'em what for, my icy pet!" exclaimed Scott.

Zoey turned to Mike and tossed him the Double Wielder.

"Here, Mike."

Mike gasped in happiness. "You mean... you're not mad anymore?"

"No, I still am! I just don't want to die by falling into this chasm!"

_[Mike equipped the Double Wielder.]_

"Remember, Mike. When you have that equipped, you can use up to **TWO** spirits in one battle. Got it?"

[Please choose a Spirit Marble for each of the party members to use.

Party Members and Current Spirits:  
Mike (Owen) & (Empty), Zoey (Cody), Brick (Gwen), Cameron (Trent)

Available Spirits:  
02 - DJ / 05-Lindsay / 11-Bridgette / 14-Katie / 16-Ezekiel / 18-Eva / 20-Courtney / 21-Justin / 22-Izzy]

Mike tried to give someone Lindsay's Spirit Marble, but Zoey stopped him...

"Wait! I've got a feeling we can't use that one."

"Why?"

"Just... just trust me, okay?"

Mike nodded and put Lindsay's marble back. He then pulled out Bridgette's...

"Wait! I've got a feeling we can't use that one."

"Why?"

"Just... just trust me, okay?"

Mike nodded and put Bridgette's marble back. He had to think long and hard... which spirits should he have the party hold for this battle with Dawn?

***** To be continued... *****


	10. Only in the Expansion Pack

"Okay!" Mike exclaimed. "I think we're all set to go!"

"Are you sure about this?" questioned Zoey.

Mike nodded with confidence. "Yes. Yes, I am!"

The four of them charged at Dawn, which began the battle.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

In this week's episode, it's the grand battle against Dawn! Let's just get right into it, shall we?

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 10 [36]: Only in the Expansion Pack (12.03.12)  
-**

"My Master has ordered your end," stated an emotionless Dawn. "I must comply."

Zoey made the first move, using her rifle to fire a laser shot at Dawn. Dawn let out a small grunt as she was hit, taking 14 damage from it.

_[Be careful!]_

Dawn suddenly reached up to her own head and started shaking it.

"Be quiet, you! I must follow my Master!"

Cameron had a confused look on his face.

"Who is she talking to?"

Mike took his turn, deciding to summon up a spirit.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 16, ready to summon!  
Ezekiel, the Homeschooled Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Ezekiel pulled out his scythe and immediately made a beeline for Dawn.

"Let's make this quick!" exclaimed Mike.

_[Ezekiel's Attacks... Number 1! Early Exit!]_

Ezekiel swung at Dawn's head, expecting to lop it off in one go. But his scythe met some resistance about six inches away from her neck. It hit an invisible barrier that became visible upon an attempt to breach it. Since the attack failed, Ezekiel grumbled in disgust before leaving the battle, with scythe in hand.

"**HA!**" laughed Scott from afar. "One-hit KO moves don't work on boss characters!"

"**WHAT KIND OF VIDEO GAME LOGIC IS THAT?**" Mike screamed in return.

Brick was up next. Like Zoey, he too took a shot at Dawn. His shot hurt her for 24 life points.

"If Master wishes it so," stated Dawn, "then so it shall be!"

_[Wind Storm]_

Dawn snapped her finger, and on command, a half-dozen eagles appeared, all hovering in front of her. They all started flapping their wings in unison, generating a strong wind storm that hit everyone in the heroes' party for a large amount of damage. Once the eagles had done their part, they flew back to where they had come from.

"If you think that's gonna stop us..." grunted Mike.

"Oh, I'm just getting started!" said Dawn, with an evil smirk.

_[Be careful!]_

"Will you be quiet?" Dawn snapped again.

"Who's she talking to?" asked Brick.

"Herself, I think," replied Zoey. "Though I don't quite know why."

As they tried to figure out what was going on, Cameron took his turn.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 14, ready to summon!  
Katie, the Sweet Girl! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"**EEEEEEEE!**" squealed Katie, as she appeared on the battlefield.

_[Katie seems hesitant to battle.]_

Katie passed on doing anything, instead deciding to just float around and hang there until Cameron's next turn.

_[Heliosomo]_

Zoey used a second-level healing spell, which restored one-fourth of each member's max life points to the party. Mike fired a shot at Dawn, but she dodged it.

"Time to get serious!" shouted Brick.

Brick pulled out his Spirit Marble and used it to summon the spirit from within.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 03, ready to summon!  
Gwen, the Loner! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"You've got five minutes," Gwen stated, "and then things get ugly."

She did not seem pleased to be summoned again, but Brick needed her power.

_[Gwen's Attacks... Number 2! B.T.T.H.]_

Gwen went up to Dawn and promptly gave her a boot to the head. It hurt Dawn a lot, as she took 70 points of damage.

"I can't let him down," groaned Dawn, as she thought out loud.

Dawn caught her breath, and then spoke once more.

"I must succeed!"

_[Spirit Bondage]_

A dark aura cloud appeared above Dawn. Then, without warning, four limbs sprouted out of it, one for each of the heroes. Each limb landed a hit on its target, but it did not dish out any damage. Instead, a dark red '3' appeared above their heads. One appeared above Dawn's head as well.

[Dawn's counter is at 3!  
Zoey's counter is at 3!  
Mike's counter is at 3!  
Brick's counter is at 3!  
Cameron's counter is at 3!]

_[Spirit Bondage places a hex on participants of battle! The counter will decrease after each player's turn! If your counter reaches 0, you perish!]_

"That can't be good," commented Mike.

"That's the exact definition of not good!" added Cameron.

"Why'd you have to go and ruin the surprise?" Dawn asked, before lightly flicking herself in the head.

_[I will not allow you to manipulate my friends!]_

"The cat may be out of the bag, but I'm confident that they will not be able to beat me."

_[Princess! If one of you uses a spirit with earth-based powers...]_

Again, Dawn flicked herself in the head.

"That's enough out of you!"

Zoey looked at her party. "Do we even have an earth-based elemental spirit?"

Cameron's turn began with Katie leaving the battlefield, having done nothing to help the cause. He pulled out his laser rifle and fired a shot at Dawn. It only hit for '9' points, though.

[Cameron's counter has been reduced to 2!]

Zoey took out her Spirit Marble and used it to summon Justin to the field.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 21, ready to summon!  
Justin, the Eye Candy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Justin came out, ripping his shirt off immediately upon summoning. After flexing his muscles, he commenced his attack.

_[Justin's Attacks... Number 1! Admire Me!]_

Justin cast his spell.

_[All female spirits are prevented from being summoned for 1 turn!]_

[Zoey's counter has been reduced to 2!]

Mike and Brick each just shot at Dawn, taking off 17 and 25 points, respectively.

[Mike's counter has been reduced to 2!  
Brick's counter has been reduced to 2!]

_[Tiger Uppercut]_

Dawn put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Out of nowhere, a bengal tiger appeared. Dawn pointed at her target, which was Cameron. The tiger, in response, leapt at him and mauled him to pieces. After being on the receiving end of a 99-point attack, Cameron collapsed.

"**CAM!**" Mike shouted.

_[It's not right for you to use animals to hurt people!]_

"Quiet, you! He was asking for it."

[Dawn's counter has been reduced to 2!]

_[Helios]_

Zoey spent her turn healing herself back up to near full-health, but...

[Zoey's counter has been reduced to 1!]

Mike shot at Dawn, but his shot was off-target, resulting in a miss...

[Mike's counter has been reduced to 1!]

Brick charged up for his most powerful attack...

[Brick's counter has been reduced to 1!]

And just like that, it was Dawn's turn again.

_[Squirrel Medic]_

Four squirrels ran up to Dawn, each holding an acorn-shaped pill. Dawn took the pills from them and quickly downed them. A green '50' appeared above her head, signifying that a quarter of her max life points had been restored.

[Dawn's counter has been reduced to 1!]

Zoey pulled out a Strawberry Sauce from her pack and tossed it at the fallen Cameron. It revived him instantly.

"I'm alive again!" Cameron squeaked.

[Zoey's counter has been reduced to 0!]

The dark aura cloud reappeared above Zoey. Dark raindrops started to fall from it, and if they were to hit anybody, it was instant death.

You can guess what happened next.

"**PRINCESS! NO!**" screamed Mike as Zoey fainted.

Mike opened up his pack to get a Strawberry Sauce. But before he could pull it out, he changed his mind about what to do. He instead took out a Spirit Marble.

"Please be good," pleaded Mike.

He threw the marble at his feet, with it colliding with the planks of the bridge. A white smoke cloud appeared, giving time for the spirit to be summoned.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 20, ready to summon!]_

The smoke began to dissipate, and out of it stepped...

_Courtney, the Type A! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"I'm gonna win this!" Courtney declared.

Dawn gasped in shock. "Master! She is an earth-type user! What should I do?"

_[How about you get out of my body, you poser!]_

Mike ordered Courtney to attack Dawn.

_[Courtney's Attacks... Number 1! I Rock, You Roll!]_

Courtney materialized a box full of pebbles. She started chucking them at Dawn. Every single one of the five dozen pebbles hit her, each causing '1' point of damage. But Courtney was not done yet. She clapped her hands once, signaling for the other part of her attack to commence. Dawn turned around just in time to see a giant boulder roll up. It flattened her like a pancake.

Once the boulder had done its job, it rolled off. Dawn unflattened herself, then watched as a '50' appeared above her head.

"Am I good, or am I good?" asked Courtney, with her hands on her hips.

Courtney exited the battlefield; her work was done. Meanwhile, Dawn collapsed in exhaustion.

_[Mike, Brick, and Cameron each received 242 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Cameron leveled up!  
Party received 3450 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 09 - Harold!]_

* * *

Mike, Brick, Cameron, and Zoey, who was revived off-screen, made their way to the end of the bridge. Zoey went over to her friend to check on her condition. Using both hands, she lifted Dawn's head and upper back off of the ground.

"Dawn! Dawn! **DAWN!**"

Zoey checked Dawn's pulse.

"It's weak! She's in trouble, guys!"

"Is there an infirmary in the next town?"

Zoey nodded. As the party tried to think of how to get Dawn there, Sam had, since we last checked on him, woken up. He had just finished traversing the bridge, and he immediately offered assistance.

"Allow me!"

Brick and Sam worked together to carefully pick Dawn up. They held her in such a way that her body was perfectly parallel to the ground.

"**WAIT!**" Mike suddenly recalled. "What about Scott?"

Mike and Cameron both looked back towards the far end of the bridge.

"**HE'S GONE!**" Cameron shouted.

"Forget about him," Zoey spoke up. "Right now, our only concern should be Dawn."

Everyone nodded. They then began the trek to the Town of Cold, which was an eighth-mile down the road...

* * *

Cold General Hospital...

Mike, Brick, Cameron, and Sam walked out from the emergency entrance.

"I'm so glad we got her here in time," Cameron said in relief. "They said that Dawn will make a full recovery."

"I can't believe that she was being drugged!" Brick exclaimed in disbelief. "Just like that McLean Army scum to brainwash people with illegal substances!"

"Never knew they'd stoop that low," commented Mike. "We'd better inform General Hatchet of this!"

"But we've been pretty much AWOL for a week! Will we be reprimanded for being out of contact for so long?"

"We have no choice, Brick. There's no way Dawn's the only victim, given how hard she was under Scott's control. If we tell our commander what we've learned, maybe they can search for other victims."

Sam clenched his fist in anger. "If they've gotten their hands on Dakota..."

Mike put a hand on Sam's shoulder to comfort him.

"If you want, I can request that they look for her."

But Sam shook his head in denial.

"No. My job was to protect her, and I failed. I'll never be able to live with myself if I asked for others to clean up my mess."

Sam started to walk away.

"Hold on!" Mike shouted. "What about..."

He pulled out Courtney's marble and held it out to Sam.

"It's too much to ask for a battle for ownership right now, so... how about I just give you this back. If we need it..."

"Keep it."

"Say wha?"

"Keep it. You need it more than I do."

"But what if Scott comes after you? How will you defend yourself?"

Sam grinned as he pulled out a Spirit Marble that had the number '07' on it.

"This guy's as strong as a Level 30 Warrior, so I should be good!"

"Level 30? I didn't know the levels went up that high!"

"Only in the expansion pack."

"The wha?"

"Never mind. It'll make sense later. Well, good luck, guys, and give my regards to the princess."

With that, Sam left. Mike turned towards his squadmates.

"I guess we'd better find a place to lodge for the night."

"What about Princess Zoey?" queried Brick. "You sure she's safe alone?"

"She can take care of herself. Besides, even if she needed protection, she wouldn't let us."

"You mean she wouldn't let you," said Cameron, with a giggle.

"Look, I'm sure this'll blow all over and I'll get a make-up kiss or something tomorrow! Let's just rest, okay? It's been a long day."

"Whatever you say, sir."

* * *

Inside the hospital...

Dawn was resting peacefully in bed, recovering from her injuries. Zoey was sitting in a chair next to her, keeping watch.

"I can't believe Scott did this to you. I could've stopped him. I should've stopped him from going off with you the day we broke up the research team."

Zoey reached over and clasped Dawn's right hand between her own hands.

"I feel this is my fault, Dawn, and I don't know what I can do to make it up to you."

She leaned in and started sobbing into her hands. Zoey continued to cry for quite a while, until she managed to tire herself out and fall asleep face-down in the sheets.

* * *

_[Zoey! Zoey! Zoey!]_

Once more within the white space of nothingness, Zoey heard that familiar face call out to her. But now she could put a name to the voice, as Dawn materialized before her, wearing nothing but a flowing white gown.

"Dawn!"

"Hello, Zoey. Long time no see."

The two girls shared a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Zoey. The last thing I seem to recall is Scott treating me to dinner the night the two of us left the lab. From that point on, I lost control of my own body to my dark side, which took over and willingly followed Scott's orders."

Zoey gasped. "You mean..."

"Yes. Scott made me do whatever he asked of me. Even..."

Zoey gasped a second time. "He didn't..."

"Nope. He decided to beat around the bush, as the saying goes, I believe. If I had defeated you though..."

Dawn shuddered at the thought of that outcome.

"So, when you wake up, you'll tell us everything?"

"Everything I know."

But Zoey was a little skeptical.

"Everything you know, or everything you think we should know? Because the guys keep thinking that I'm holding stuff back from them."

"Everything I know, I promise. Besides, I fear that we don't have much time."

"We don't? Why?"

"I'll explain everything. When you wake up, call the guys. They'll need to hear this too."

Zoey nodded. A few seconds later, the dream ended.

* * *

The next morning...

Dawn had woken up, and sure enough, Zoey had called the guys and they were all gathered around her bed.

"Thanks to you all of you for freeing me from Scott's drug-induced spell!"

"You're welcome," Cameron said, graciously.

"As you probably are all aware, I've been chatting with Zoey via a psychic dream link the past couple of nights."

"So is it true that to save the world," questioned Mike, "we **DON'T **need to find all the Spirit Marbles?"

"Yes. You only have to find eight of them."

"Okay. Which eight?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. I mean, I know a couple of them... Scott has been searching for them as well."

Zoey gave Dawn an intense look. "You **MUST **tell us what you know!"

"Okay. There's... the Geek. And... the Surfer Girl. And... the Cool Guy. And... the Arch Villain."

The gang thought for a minute.

"Why do those sound familiar?" thought Zoey out loud.

"Each of the spirits has a personality label. For example, the Geek is Cody, the Surfer Girl is Bridgette, and the Cool Guy is Trent."

Zoey pulled out the carrying case for the Spirit Marbles, and Brick proceeded to take out the Spirit Marbles containing Cody, Bridgette, and Trent.

"So we have three right off the bat!" Mike stated matter-of-factly. "What about the Arch Villain? Do we have that one?"

Zoey turned the case so that Dawn could see which marbles the team had. After looking them over, she looked at the party and shook her head.

"No. You do not."

"Well," Mike wondered, "can you tell us who the Arch Villain is so that we can find him or her?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot."

"Aren't you psychic?"

"It doesn't work that way!"

"Then how does it work?"

"**MIKE!**" Zoey screamed.

Mike quickly backed away, cowering behind Brick for protection.

"If Dawn doesn't know, she doesn't know! We're just going to have to find him or her ourselves."

Dawn raised her hand in the air.

"If I may kindly make a suggestion..."

She motioned for Zoey to pull out her map. Zoey complied, and soon enough, Dawn was pointing out a location to the southeast of the Town of Cold.

"Anybody know Japanese?" questioned Brick, who recognized the characters as Japanese kanji, even though he had no idea what they meant.

Dawn playfully giggled. "It's okay. Translated, it's very long and hard to pronounce. So people just call it..."

"**TORONTO!**" yelled an Izzy lookalike with rainbow-colored hair, as she burst into the room.

Everyone looked at her strangely.

"**WHAT?** Vizzy had to get in this episode somehow!"

***** To be continued... *****


	11. This is Toronto?

Princess Zoey could not believe what she had just heard. So she asked Dawn to confirm it.

"She said Toronto, as in the place where Trent, Cody, and Gwen all used to live before all... this! Toronto is where you're suggesting we go?"

Dawn nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. I feel strongly that one of the eight Spirit Marbles that you will need to complete your quest is located there."

"Perhaps we may find a clue or two as to which ones we need there as well," Cameron added, as he thought out loud.

"Then it's off to Toronto. We just need to resupply and possibly upgrade our armor and weapons."

Vizzy inserted herself into the conversation, wrapping an arm around the back of Zoey's neck to reach over to her left shoulder.

"Allow me to offer my services! Hyuck!"

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

Slowly but surely, we're getting to the end. Although there's still a number of classic characters yet to debut and that I'll have to rush into these final chapters, the last two 'new school' characters are taking the stage at last!

Enjoy, and make sure you come back next week for the thrilling two-episode finale!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 11 [37]: This is Toronto? (12.10.12)  
-**

20 minutes later, inside the local branch of Izzy's Backwater Emporium...

Cameron was in the process of handing over his laser rifle to Vizzy to be upgraded. Brick was browsing the armor section of the store, while Zoey was at the weapons counter. Mike was in the potions aisle, already gathering the ones they needed to replace the ones they had just used. Once he was set, he wandered around to talk to his party members. First was Cameron.

"I can't believe I'm getting an upgrade! Now I'll finally be useful in battle!"

Mike gave Cameron a pat on the back.

"Good job, buddy!"

He then wandered over to the armor section. Before chatting with Brick, though, he found something interesting.

"A two-piece bikini and it's on sale! I wonder if I should buy it for the princess."

He decided to ask Brick about it. But all he said was...

"Make sure we get and equip the latest armor, sir! We must be prepared for what's to come!"

Seeing Brick was of no help, Mike decided on what armor to purchase for the group. In the end, he followed his friend's advice and passed on the bikini. He headed over to Zoey, who was perusing the weapons.

"For some reason," she told him, "I just don't think I'm comfortable using a laser rifle anymore. Perhaps I should consider using something else?"

A look at the weapons on display showed that, available for sale, was a two-handed sword, a baseball bat, a paper fan, a dagger, and an archery bow. Mike selected the bat and showed it to Zoey.

"I suppose," she said, "but I'm not much of a swinger."

Dawn's voice filled the air above them.

[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No

No.]

Mike put it back. He then selected the paper fan. Zoey was very hesitant about being presented it.

"Uh... really?"

[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No

No.]

Mike returned that to the shelf. His next choice was to select the archery bow.

"I've never used a bow... but for some reason, it's calling out to me."

[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No

Yes.]

"Thanks!" Zoey said afterwards.

Mike went into the menu and equipped Zoey with the bow.

"Make sure to sell weapons and armor that are no longer useful," the princess reminded Mike. "You can use the money from it to buy other things you might need."

Heeding her advice, Mike did the same for everyone else in the party, including himself. Once he was done, he went to the counter to checkout. After Vizzy totaled everything up, she had something extra to give the group.

"For spending so much at Vizzy's shop, Vizzy'd like to give you a free gift!"

She handed Mike a pink jelly bean in a small, five-inch cylindrical jar.

_[Party received Gift Item!]_

"Once you open the jar, Vizzy recommends you eat the contents right away."

But Mike had not only already opened it, but he had already tossed the jelly bean into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"Say what now?"

"Wait, Mike!" Zoey warned. "Haven't your experiences with jelly beans been a little... off?"

"Third time's the charm! I'm sure nothing bad will happen!"

* * *

After leaving the shop, the party headed out of town, along the path that would lead them down to Toronto. But just as they were about to step over the border...

_[Zoey!]_

They all froze upon hearing Dawn's voice. All four of them turned their heads one way and then another as they tried to find her.

_[I'm communicating with you telepathically.]_

"Oh, right!" Zoey shouted. "What's up, Dawn? Is everything okay?"

_[I just want to thank you all once more for rescuing me from Scott. Pardon my language, but he's a no-goodnik!]_

"Are you sure you're okay with us leaving? We can stick around for a few days if you want."

_[That won't be necessary. Scott has considered me a lost cause. He's already in search of a new concubine to replace me. Besides, time is of the essence! You must find all of the required Spirit Marbles before it is too late.]_

"Too late?" Mike queried. "What happens if we take too long?"

_[I... I'm not sure. But it cannot be anything good for your chi. Or your body.]_

"Pfft... you're a lot of help!"

_[While I'm recovering here, I'll try to do some research while keeping an eye out for anyone who might be trying to stop you. Good luck!]_

With that, Mike now could communicate with Dawn anytime he wanted. The party left the Town of Cold, resuming their journey.

* * *

They made their way down from the Chilly Corona Chasm area, battling any creatures that would dare try to impede their progress. Somewhere along the way...

_[Zoey leveled up!]_

And a little later...

_[Brick leveled up!]_

And later still, following a battle with a wolf...

_[The enemy seems to have left behind something important._

_Party received Marble 12 - Noah!]_

"I wonder how an animal ended up with a Spirit Marble..." thought Zoey.

* * *

After two long days of travel, the party of heroes arrived in Toronto. To their surprise, though, the town was eerily quiet.

"This... this is Toronto?"

Zoey was unsure if they were actually in the right place, given how devoid of life the place was. A glance around at many of the buildings in town showed that they were starting to deteriorate. The damage was only minor, though, suggesting that it was not too long ago that there had been life residing here. It had been long enough, though, that big, long weeds were plentiful across every lawn.

Mike led them through the town, trying to figure out why it had been abandoned. Most of the house on the main street had been left unlocked, so they went inside each of them to scavenge for clues. In one instance, they found a page from a diary, left lying on the floor.

"What's this?" asked Mike.

Zoey picked it up and started reading the words on it aloud.

"'That lucky girl is supposed to be returning home today. And rumor is that she's bringing home a boyfriend! Even better is that he's one of the boys that she's been traveling with. I'm sure that'll make her father happy.'"

They took the page with them, even though the entry did not seem to be relevant to their quest. They continued on. In another house, they found another diary entry. But given this had different handwriting, it was apparent that it was not written by the same person as the first. Again, Zoey read it aloud for the others to hear.

"'I can't believe the big day's finally here! I'm getting married this afternoon! At least, I hope to. The local weather nut is calling for a high chance of thunderstorms today. My parents and I spent everything we had on this wedding! If it gets rained out...'"

The entry ended there.

"Hold on," Mike spoke up. "Princess, remember when you told us about the day everyone disappeared? Do you recall there being a wedding?"

Zoey thought for a second before responding.

"Not particularly. But I know enough of the legend to safely assume there was one on that day."

They pocketed the diary entry and continued on. Eventually, they arrived at the bride-to-be's house.

"Could it be?" questioned Cameron. "Is this Gwen's house?"

There was a note taped to the front door. Mike read it aloud.

"'Dear Gwen. You are **FORBIDDEN** to step foot in this house until you marry that ruffian! Love, Gwen's Dad.' Good guess, Cam!"

They went in. While the others confined their search to the living room, Mike went all around the house. It appeared that they would not find anything of note until Mike went into Gwen's bedroom. He touched an object that had been left on the dresser.

_[Mike has found Gwen's ?.]_

"**MIKE!**"

Zoey marched into the room, smacking Mike's hand so that he would release his grip on the object.

"Don't touch that! What's wrong with you?"

"Okay, okay! Yeesh!"

Zoey left. Mike continued searching the room. He eventually came across Gwen's diary.

"**GUYS**!"

The others ran into the room.

"I found Gwen's diary! But... it's locked."

Brick spoke up. "As wrong as it is to break into another person's diary, there might be information pertinent to what may have happened that day. Sir, we must open it."

"But wouldn't that be wrong?"

Princess Zoey snatched it from Mike. Before the guys knew it, she had picked the lock with a hairpin. Mike was appalled.

"**ZOEY! **How could you?"

"Diplomatic immunity!"

"Diploma-how does that give you permission to..."

"The last entry!" shouted the princess, shushing Mike. "And it's dated the day of the incident."

Zoey cleared her throat, and then started reading...

* * *

Gwen was sitting in bed, writing in her diary on the morning of her wedding. She narrated aloud.

_[Well, today's the big day. I'm finally getting married. I must be the third-happiest person in the world right now, which is a new record for me. The other two? My dad - who actually let me come back home after hearing of my engagement - and, of course, Cody, my husband-to-be. Yeah, never thought I'd ever put Cody and husband-to-be in the same sentence, but there you go._

_I rarely smile, but my face will definitely be, uck, beaming at the ceremony. Beaming... a word I'd never use in reference to myself. At least that was the plan. Something Izzy told me yesterday after the rehearsal has me worried...]_

* * *

The day before...

Gwen was seen talking to a couple of her bridesmaids. She then saw Izzy coming towards her, out of the corner of her eye.

"That will be all, you two. See you at the party!"

The two young women thanked Gwen, and then departed. The bride-to-be then turned to Izzy.

"Thanks for offering to preside over the ceremony."

Izzy handed Gwen a document. The latter girl nearly lost it after realizing what it was.

"A license to perform marriage ceremonies! Did... did you just get it today?"

"Izzy says that test was hard. But Izzy got just enough right to pass! It usually takes Izzy three or four tries to pass a licensing test, so for Izzy to get great marks on the first attempt is something special!"

"You mean if you hadn't passed... **IZZY!**"

"No worries! Izzy knows this is a special day for you and Cody. Izzy promises not to ruin your special day. That being said, Izzy must warn you **NOT**to get married tomorrow!"

"Not to get married?"

Izzy nodded. "Izzy has seen the future, and it is not pretty. Izzy believes that after the ceremony, at the precise moment that Cody carries you over the threshold of your front door, the two of you will disappear from this world! As will Izzy, and Trent, and Duncan, and Sierra, and... Izzy! Wait, did Izzy already say Izzy? Oh, yeah, of course Izzy did!"

"Izzy, what are you talking about?"

"There will be this big flash of white light that comes and whisks all of us away! We will all be trapped in some parallel dimension between here and the afterlife, unable to do anything until we are freed by a member of the planet's ruling monarch family and her party of soldiers from another universe, who crash land on this planet after escaping from enemy capture."

Gwen did not seem enthused by that prediction.

"As delightfully morbid as that sounds, that's way too specific of a threat to consider cancelling the wedding."

Izzy shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh well! Don't say Izzy didn't warn you!"

With that, Izzy left.

* * *

Back in Gwen's room...

_[Izzy doesn't exactly have all of her ducks in a row, if you know what I mean. That being said... after sleeping on it, I'm beginning to believe her prediction might come true. But that's silly! Do I really believe some mysterious force is so determined to prevent my marriage and subsequent honeymoon with Cody - and a third time, words I thought I'd never use together - that we'd all be ripped from the fabric of existence?]_

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Gwen's mom and Bridgette both entered the room without waiting for an answer.

"It's time to go to the chapel, dear," Gwen's mom told her.

Bridgette squealed. "C'mon! I can't wait to be your maid-of-honor!"

_[Well, it's time. If all goes well, diary, tomorrow I'll be so giddy and out-of-character as I regale you with the tale of my first night as a married woman!]_

Gwen closed and locked her diary, and then followed her mom and Bridgette out of the room.

* * *

Present time...

"Izzy's prediction came true," concluded Zoey. "She saw it coming!"

"If she saw it coming," wondered Mike, "then why did she not try to do anything to stop it? She's just as useless as Dawn!"

_[I heard that! Zoey, if you would please!]_

Princess Zoey nodded, and then slapped Mike in the back of the head.

"**HEY! **You can't do proxy backslaps!"

"Well," Cameron cut in, getting the conversation back on topic. "We now know the incident happened. But we still don't know why."

Mike pulled out the case full of Spirit Marbles and retrieved Izzy's. He held it up in front of his face, at eye level, and examined it.

"If only there was some way to summon Izzy outside of battle. Perhaps then, we could ask if she knows why."

_[Party received Gwen's Diary!]_

"I don't think we're going to find any more answers here," Zoey thought aloud. "Let's go."

The party left.

* * *

They made their way to the edge of town, where they found the original Izzy's Backwater Emporium. It was not open, though, and the building was a wreck. So much so in comparison to the other buildings in town. Part of the roof was gone, as was the neon-lighted sign that used to rest atop it. The front door was hanging off of its hinges and all of the windows had been haphazardly boarded up.

"I'm not sure it's safe to go inside," said Zoey, in hesitation.

Mike decided to lead them all in anyway.

* * *

The inside of the store was in as bad a shape as the outside. The wallpaper was peeling, the countertops were falling apart, debris from the fallen roof was scattered about, and the shelves were pretty barren. All of the good stuff was gone, and what little goods remained were either damaged beyond use or had long past their expiration date for consumption.

"What do you think happened here?" asked Cameron.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the abandonment of the town," theorized Brick. "Maybe in the midst of fleeing, the store was raided bone dry by the townspeople."

Zoey knelt down and picked up a piece of roof off of the ground.

"Whatever forced the populace to descend into every-man-for-themselves mode, something bad must've happened. Something worse than Gwen and the others disappearing from this world."

"But what?" Mike wondered.

Mike grabbed his head and screamed in anger.

"**ARGH! **Why do we keep getting questions that we can't find answers to?"

Suddenly, without warning, they heard a laser rifle being fired. And it was coming from outside.

"**YOU!**"

The four quickly ducked down and then made their way to the window. The shout had come from not one, but two people! Once at the window, Mike dared to take a peek through the gap in the boards that had been nailed to the now-paneless window.

* * *

Mike gasped upon seeing a male and a female arguing with each other. To his right was the male, Corporal Lightning, who was dressed in a red McLean Empire uniform.

"What you doing here, guy? Lightning's trying to bag himself a few fugitives of war!"

To Mike's left was the female, Corporal Jo, who was wearing a blue Hatchet Republic uniform.

"She's one of us!" Mike thought to himself.

"I have business with those AWOLers in there! Deserting their posts the way they did! That's high treason!"

"Lightning was here first!"

"No, I was!"

"Why don't we have a duel? Loser leaves; winner gets to do what he wants with those dweebs in there?"

"Fair enough... if you think you can take me!"

Mike gasped in astonishment as both officers pulled out a Spirit Marble to duel with. Jo's had the number '23' on it, while Lightning had number '24.' Seeing this, Mike ducked back down behind the windowsill.

* * *

"What's going on out there?" asked Cameron.

"It's a duel between one of McLean's officers and one of ours!" replied Mike.

"We should go help our comrade, sir," suggested Brick.

"Negative! One, I don't know who she is, and two, she's under orders to capture us! Supreme Commander Hatchet believes we've gone AWOL!"

Brick gasped. "If that's the case, if she apprehends us and brings us back to the mothership, we could be court-martialed!"

"We can't let that happen!" Cameron cried. "I have no record to speak of, so a court-martial would look very, very bad!"

"I agree," Mike said. "Our best bet is to sneak out the back and hope, whilst in the heat of battle, they don't notice our retreat. Do you agree, Princess Zoey?"

He turned to see what she would say. There was one problem... she was not there.

"**AS THE RULER OF THIS WORLD, I ORDER YOU TO STAND DOWN THIS INSTANT!**"

Mike ran his palm down his face.

"Please don't tell me she went outside to confront them."

Cameron was looking through the gaps in the boards. He saw that Zoey was, indeed, outside.

"She went outside to confront them."

"**I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ME THAT!**"

The three guys rushed out of the building.

* * *

Both Lightning and Jo had ceased battling to see what Zoey was yammering about.

"I am Princess Zoey, the reigning monarch of the planet Wawanakwa! This planet is neutral territory. That means that anyone associated with either the United Forces of the McLean Empire or the Hatchet Republic can step on our soil to perform any act of war!"

"What are you blabbing about?" questioned Jo. "You gave up your neutrality when those deserters allied with you!"

Zoey wondered what Jo was talking about until she turned around and saw the guys run out.

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?**" Mike and Zoey asked each other, simultaneously.

"You're harboring Republic soldiers?" growled Lightning. "Lightning believes you aren't neutral any more, Princess!"

Both officers started walking towards the foursome, each with the intent of capturing the group by any means necessary.

***** To be continued... *****


	12. Things Can't Get Worse!

"I told you to back off!" shouted Jo. "These maggots are mine!"

"Lightning don't think so!" exclaimed Lightning. "They're coming with me!"

"They're not going with anyone!" declared Zoey. "Right, Mike?"

Princess Zoey waited for Mike to give her a confirmation, but none came.

"Uh, Mike?"

"Mike?"

Zoey turned to look at Mike, who for some reason now had long eyelashes and thick, luscious lips. He also had a gymnastics ribbon gripped in his left hand.

"I am Svetlana, famed Russian gymnast."

He, or perhaps she, started dancing circles around Zoey, twirling his ribbon to and fro as he did.

"Oh, not again!" cried Zoey.

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

Onward with the penultimate episode of the season, where things start to come together at last.

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 12 [38]: Things Can't Get Worse! (12.17.12)  
-**

Before Zoey could figure out what to do with Mike, or rather, Svetlana, the battle began. Lightning was the first to act.

"Let Lightning show you mugs how it's done!"

_[Lightning Strike]_

"Sha-**POW!**"

A single cloud appeared above Svetlana. Without warning, it turned dark, and a thunderbolt fired out of it. Luckily, Svetlana twirled out of the way, escaping any harm.

"Looks like we can't rely on Mike," Zoey said aloud. "Again."

Zoey pulled out her new bow and used it to fire an arrow at Lightning. A '20' appeared over his head, indicating how much damage the arrow had inflicted. Next up was Jo, and she immediately reached for a Spirit Marble.

"I'm taking you traitorous lightweights down!"

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 23, ready to summon!]_

Jo threw the marble at the ground, and out of it and the resulting smoke emerged the spirit inside, who had an all-knowing smirk on his face.

_[Alejandro, the Arch Villain! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Prepárate a morir!" he proclaimed, in Spanish.

"That can't be good," remarked Brick.

_[Alejandro's Attacks... Number 1! Sexy Dance!]_

Alejandro started dancing, shaking his hips to and fro. The dance ended up affecting all the girls, and by all, that meant Princess Zoey, Jo, and Svetlana!

_[Zoey is charmed.  
Jo is charmed.  
Svetlana is charmed.]_

"It's not over!" Jo shouted.

_[Alejandro's Attacks... Number 2! Misdirection!]_

Alejandro clapped his hands thrice, in quick succession. He then pointed right at Brick and cast a spell on him.

_[Brick may be confused.]_

"Did that spirit just take two turns in a row?" Cameron asked out loud.

"No!" answered Jo, with a smirk. "He just took **THREE**!"

_[Alejandro's Attacks... Number 3! Muerte!]_

Alejandro disappeared in a flash, and then quickly reappeared right behind Zoey. His body was illuminated with a dark aura as he reached out and poked the princess in the back, just under her right shoulder blade, with his right middle finger. Zoey died instantly, as her fellow party members watch her fall lifelessly to the ground.

"**NO!**" yelled Cameron. "Princess!"

Alejandro then departed the battlefield, leaving like all other spirits do.

"How did that spirit get three turns in a row?" questioned Brick.

Jo was still smirking as she delivered an answer to that question.

"Let's just say I came prepared."

With that, Brick took his turn.

_[Brick is confused.]_

Brick tried to pull out an item to revive Zoey. But in confusion, he instead pulled out his laser rifle and fired a shot at Svetlana. It hurt her for '32' points of damage.

"Svetlana is getting tired," she admitted, in exhaustion.

Speaking of which, it was her turn.

"Svetlana's time to step it up a notch!"

Svetlana used a Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 05, ready to summon!  
Lindsay, the Dumb Princess! She is a spirit! Keep your pants on!]_

"Halloween is the best holiday **EVER**!" Lindsay squealed. "You get to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what you want stuffed in your turkey!"

_[Lindsay's Attacks... Number 2! Sing!]_

Lindsay whipped out a wireless microphone and started singing as terribly as possible.

"'This place about to blow-ow-ow-owowow-ow-ow-ow, blow-ow-ow-owowow-ow-ow-ow, this place about to blow-ow-ow-owowow-ow-ow-ow, blow-ow-ow-owowow-ow-ow-ow, **THIS PLACE ABOUT TO...**'"

Suddenly, Lindsay spontaneously combusted. In the explosion, both Jo and Lightning took a whopping '75' points of damage and were covered in glitter. The latter's effect?

_[Jo's accuracy severely dropped!  
Lightning's accuracy severely dropped!]_

"Unbelievable!" shouted Jo, in disbelief.

"Lightning's not going down," growled Lightning. "Not that easily!"

Cameron decided to summon his spirit on his first turn of the battle as well.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 12, ready to summon!  
Noah, the Schemer! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Noah emerged from the smoke with his head buried in a book. Realizing he had been summoned, he peeked out from behind the hardcover novel to see what was going on. After taking stock of the situation, he went back to reading, even though he remained on the field, still waiting for an order.

"I have a really good feeling about this!" shouted Cameron enthusiastically.

_[Noah's Attacks... Number 1! Ignorance is Bliss!]_

Noah sighed as he again pulled himself away from his novel. He pulled out a six-sided die and rolled it on the ground. It tumbled and tumbled until it came to a stop, with the two-dotted side up.

"Uh huh."

He nodded, picked his dice up, and then went off to the side of the battlefield. He just floated there and went back to reading, apparently waiting for something. Back to Lightning, who aimed his laser rifle at Svetlana. The agile dancer dodged the shot, though.

"Aw, man, Lightning hates incompletions!"

"Svetlana has made you look like a fool!"

"Stop referring to yourselves in the third-person, jerkwads!" growled Jo.

Jo was prepared to take out her frustration out on one of them, but suddenly Noah threw his book at her head. It knocked her down to the ground. The hit only caused '1' point of damage, but it was the secondary effect that really hurt.

_[Noah made Jo skip her turn.]_

Jo got back to her feet as Noah exited. Next up was Svetlana...

_[Svetlana is charmed!]_

Svetlana ran over to Brick and then used a spinning kick to repeatedly hit Brick with, causing '3' points of damage each time, over 10 hits.

_[Brick is confused.]_

Brick aimed to shoot at Lightning, but instead he turned left and shot at Svetlana! Svetlana dodged this time, though. Cameron used his turn to pull out a Strawberry Sauce and throw it at Zoey's unconscious body to revive her.

"Eew," she whined as she got back up, "why am I all sticky?"

Back to Lightning...

"Sha-**ZAM! **Time to punch it into the end zone!"

By that, Lightning meant that it was time to use his Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 24, ready to summon!]_

A tall, purple-haired girl emerged from the smoke.

_[Sierra, the Obsessive Uber-Fan! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"Cody?" she called out. "Cody, where are you? I can smell your shampoo from here! April Showers, mmm..."

Sierra had a grin on her face as she waited for a command to be issued.

_[Sierra is biding her time.]_

Sierra hummed a tune as she continued to stand in front of Lightning.

_[Jo is charmed!]_

Jo aimed to shoot at Zoey, but instead, she spun around and shot at Lightning. Sierra, though, jumped into the shot and took it instead. A purple '15' appeared above Sierra's head. She shook off the hit, and then went back to shielding Lightning.

_[Svetlana is no longer charmed.]_

Svetlana twirled over to Jo and did the spinning kick on her. Jo was hit eight times, with each kick doing either '2' or '3' points of damage.

_[Brick is confused.]_

Brick aimed his laser rifle at Lightning. This time, he did shoot at him. But, once again, Sierra jumped in front of the shot, taking a '26' point hit.

"There's a time for being nice," Zoey shouted, "and a time to... not!"

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 20, ready to summon!  
Courtney, the Type A! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"I know exactly what to do," stated Courtney. "After all, I was a C.I.T. once before."

_[Courtney's Attacks... Number 2! I Want a Lawyer!]_

Courtney whipped out her cell phone and made a phone call. In moments, a dozen lawyers ran by her and towards the enemy. Half of them headed for Jo, while the other half went for Lightning. They all swung their leather briefcases as they got up to and ran by the enemy. Jo took five hits for '10' damage, and completely dodged one of them. Meanwhile, '9's and '10's appeared above Sierra's head as she took all the hits for Lightning.

With the event done, Courtney flashed a pleasant smile before exiting. The attack was also supposed to inflict a paralyzation status on the victims, but Sierra was immune to status ailments, while Jo avoided it since she was already charmed.

Cameron used his laser rifle and fired at Jo. A '9' appeared above her head.

"What?" questioned Jo. "How could they... they beat me!"

But the battle was not over yet, as Lightning was still alive. Everyone expected Sierra to exit the battle, but she continued to wait.

_[Sierra is still biding her time.]_

"In Soviet Russia, spirit summons **YOU**!" quipped Svetlana.

Svetlana then summoned her second spirit of the battle.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 16, ready to summon!  
Ezekiel, the Homeschooled Guy! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Ezekiel grunted, yet was patient enough for once to wait for a command to attack.

_[Ezekiel's Attacks... Number 2! Berserker Mode!]_

Ezekiel leaped at Lightning, attempting to take him out with what was basically a well-timed flying tackle. Sierra reappeared to absorb the hit, but it would not matter, as Ezekiel completely missed. Ezekiel landed behind Lightning, tumbling to avoid injury, and he just proceeded to roll away and off of the battlefield.

"Svetlana disapproves! 100 squats to improve your accuracy!"

Zoey looked confused. "How do squats improve accuracy?"

The battle continued without Svetlana giving an answer.

_[Heliosomo]_

Zoey used a healing spell, which helped everyone in the party recover one-fourth of their max life points.

"Something bad's about to happen," predicted the princess.

_[Brick is confused.]_

Brick attempted to heed Zoey's warning, reaching into his pack to pull out a healing item. But, in his confusion, he fired a laser rifle shot at Zoey for '20' damage.

"Watch where you aim that thing, will ya?" Zoey barked in response.

_[Cameron is preparing to attack.]_

Cameron decided to use his most powerful attack, so he spent his turn charging. Speaking of needing time...

_[Sierra's Attacks... Number 1! Backdraft Bide!]_

A large ball of energy materialized in-between Sierra's hands.

"I'll teach you to mess with my Cody!" she exclaimed.

She then threw the ball at Princess Zoey. She closed her eyes just before impact, aware that this was going to hurt a lot. The ball hit her in the stomach and then exploded. A blinding white light enveloped the area. While everyone was blinded, the sound of a second ball being generated could be heard. They all heard Sierra throw it at someone, but no one was sure who. All they knew was that when that second one hit its target, the area was engulfed by a second flash of blinding white light.

When everyone could finally see again, Zoey was face-down on the ground, with a staggering '196' hovering over her body. A second person had a '98' above his head...

That person... was Lightning.

"**NO!**" he screamed. "Lightning can't go on injured reserve! Season over, man! Season over!"

Sierra had used twice the amount of damage that had been inflicted on her on Zoey, but she then also took the amount that she had been hit with and hurt her user, Lightning, with it, as payment for her attack.

_[Mike, Brick, and Cameron each received 372 EXP.  
Mike leveled up!  
Brick leveled up!  
Cameron leveled up!  
Party received 7000 C for winning!  
Party received Marble 23 - Alejandro!  
Party received Marble 24 - Sierra!]_

* * *

Brick was tying up Jo and Lightning so that they sat back-to-back on the dusty ground. Meanwhile, the others were trying to figure out what to do now.

"We're in so much trouble!" cried Cameron. "We'll never be able to go back to the Hatchet Republic now! Our lives as we knew them are over! **OVER!**"

"I know how you feel," said Princess Zoey. "I should've insisted you all get off of Wawanakwa the moment I found you. By not doing that, I've dragged my entire planet into this petty space war!"

Mike, now back to his old self once more, was still optimistic about things, as he squeezed in between the two and put a comforting hand on their shoulders.

"So what if all that happened? Things can't get worse!"

Zoey frowned. She pinched Mike's hand, forcing it off of her shoulder. She then walked away.

"I don't think that was the right thing to say," stated Cameron.

Mike massaged the pinched area of the back of his left hand.

"I dunno, Cam. She pinched me. That hurt a lot less than all those slaps to the face! She's not as mad as she was earlier."

"Hey, guys!"

They both turned their head to Brick, who had finished his task and was returning with some booty.

"Look what I found!"

_[Party received the Triple Trouble Trinket.]_

"Sweet!" shouted Mike.

"There's also this."

Brick handed over a rolled-up document. Her interest piqued, Princess Zoey decided to walk back over to see what was on it as Mike unfurled it. Unfortunately, the words on it were written in a language that none of them could read.

"If only this was in Canadian!" grumbled Mike. "It's the only language I understand!"

"**WAIT!**" Zoey shouted. "Is that what I think it is?"

She pointed at what looked to be a watermark in the top right corner of the parchment. The watermark was actually a stamp. It read 'Property of C.H.P.L.'

"C.H.P.L.? It's gotta be..."

_[The Crimson Heights Public Library!]_

"**DAWN!** I was gonna say that!"

_[Sorry!]_

"Crimson Heights?"

Brick pulled the map out of Zoey's pack and examined it. He then turned to Mike to report his findings.

"Sir, by my estimate it's a two-day trek by foot to Crimson Heights, due northeast."

"Two days? We can't afford even one day!"

_[It's true. After your latest victory, both the McLean Empire and the Hatchet Republic are sure to send reinforcements to resolve matters.]_

"Lighting says you guys are dead!"

They all turned to look at the Empire officer.

"Our army's elite squad is so good, they'll kill you five times before you hit the ground! That's a lot of killing!"

Jo scoffed.

"Really? The best of the Republic will kill you six times! That's one extra time then your crummy army!"

"Lightning says 'Take that back, man!'"

"No, and I'm not a man!"

The two opposing officers continued to bicker, while Zoey and the guys decided to just ignore them.

"If only there was some expedient way of reaching Crimson Heights. One that, by utilizing, would cut down travel time to hours instead of days!"

The four became lost in thought for a minute. Suddenly, an idea appeared in front of them. Or, to be more precise, it had been sitting in front of them this whole time.

"**SPEEDER BIKES!**" exclaimed Cameron.

Cameron ran for the bikes, which were actually motorcycles that could consistently hover up to a foot over the surface of the planet. They belonged to Lightning and Jo, and were painted in the color of their army. But other than that and a few minor cosmetic changes, the bikes were designed exactly the same.

"I've always dreamed of having one of these since I first saw one at the Academy!" boasted Brick, as he hopped onto the seat of the blue one.

He pulled out a key, which he had apparently swiped from Jo, and inserted it into the ignition. Turning the key, the bike roared to life instantaneously.

"**ALRIGHT!**"

He put on a helmet, as did Cameron, who hopped on behind Brick.

"C'mon, guys!"

Brick pulled out another key, which he had taken from Lightning, and threw it at Mike. He caught it, though he did not look pleased.

"But I don't have any experience driving speeder bikes!"

"I do!" exclaimed Zoey, snatching the key from him.

Zoey mounted the seat of the red bike and, in a matter of seconds, she had it up and running as well. As she put on a helmet, Mike slipped in behind her. Mike puts his on as well, then grabbed a hold of Zoey at the sides of her midsection.

"Don't get any ideas, Mike!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

Zoey slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, and their speeder bike took off at an amazing speed. Brick and Cameron followed behind, at a safe distance.

* * *

After a five-hour trip that included encounters upon encounters with the local wildlife as well as the occasional McLean Empire or Hatchet Republic soldier or two, the quartet finally arrived in Crimson Heights, one of the biggest cities on the planet.

They immediately headed for the library, in hopes of finding someone who could translate the document.

* * *

"Fizzy can translate this for you!"

The gang was flabbergasted as the librarian turned out to be the most outrageous Izzy lookalike yet! Her head was completely made out of soda, yet not only was it keeping its shape, but it was staying in place. When she noticed they were all staring at it, she addressed it.

"Fizzy can read minds, believing you want to know how Fizzy can get Fizzy's hair to stay this way! Fizzy must say it's a family secret, though. Sorry!"

She studied the document for a minute, translating the words in her mind. She then told Princess Zoey and the guys what they were.

"'The Dumb Princess, the Geek, the Sweet Girl's Friend, the Surfer Girl, the Cool Guy, the Wannabe, the Party Guy and the Arch Villain. These are the keys to the revival of the lost ones. Place them in the recessed indentations at the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot, and all we be saved.' Fizzy says that's what this little paper says!"

Mike took out the case of all of the Spirit Marbles they had collected as Zoey tried to get in touch with Dawn.

"Dawn, did you hear that? How many of them do we have?"

As she waited for her friend to respond, the guys tried to work it out on their own, placing all of the Spirit Marbles on the circulation desk counter.

"Which one was which again?" Mike asked.

"I think that one was the Cool Guy, sir," Brick recalled.

Fizzy was seen admiring the Spirit Marbles as the boys worked.

"Those are funny baubles. And yet familiar ones. In fact, Fizzy thinks Fizzy has one of those."

She ran into the back office. A few seconds later, she returned with a Spirit Marble in hand. This one was labeled with the number '01.'

"Ha! This says it's number one, but Fizzy thinks it's a wannabe."

She handed the marble over to Mike.

_[Party received Marble 01 - Beth!]_

By this point, the boys had separated all of the marbles into two groups. Mike added the marble Fizzy had just given him to the group of seven, making eight total.

"I can't get a hold of Dawn for some reason," Zoey said.

She then saw what the boys had done.

"You guys think we have all eight?"

"We think so," Mike responded.

"If we have what we need, we should go to the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot right away. If we don't, the speeder bikes will allow us to travel back to any town we've previously traveled through in order to search for any missing marbles. Mike, as leader, you have to make the decision."

[Where should we go?

Choose: Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot / Somewhere else]

***** To be continued... *****


	13. Manitoba Time!

[Where should we go?

Choose: Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot / Somewhere else

Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot.]

Mike led the way through the dark cavern, holding up a lit torch. Princess Zoey and Cameron followed close behind, while Brick brought up the rear. Eventually, the small passageway they were in opened up into a large, rock-walled room. And positioned in the exact center of the chamber was...

"The Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot!" exclaimed Mike.

They ran over to strange formation, which consisted of a marble pedestal inside an old Roman-style chariot. The pedestal itself had eight marble-sized recesses in it, in four rows of two. Mike handed the torch to Zoey and then reached into his pack to pull out their carrying case of Spirit Marbles, which was nearly full. As he did that, Cameron pulled out the scroll, which now had the translated words transcribed on it.

"Okay," he said. "'The Dumb Princess, the Geek, the Sweet Girl's Friend, the Surfer Girl, the Cool Guy, the Wannabe, the Party Guy and the Arch Villain. These are the keys to the revival of the lost ones. Place them in the recessed indentations at the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot, and all we be saved.'"

Mike started placing marbles into the pedestal. From left to right, he inserted the marbles containing Lindsay, Cody, Katie, and Bridgette in the top row, and the ones that had Trent, Beth, Owen, and Alejandro in the bottom row. He then stepped back and waited for something to happen.

But nothing did.

_[3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23. 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23!]_

"Huh?" Zoey questioned. "Dawn, is that the right order?"

_[Yes. Oh, wait, no. That's the first eight odd prime numbers. This is the correct order: 5, 17, 15, 11, 10, 1, 19, 23.]_

Brick turned all of the marbles so that they were all facing outward. He then examined them all.

"Mike, you put 14 in this slot instead of 15."

"Oh, is that all? Let me just get the right marble..."

He quickly checked all of the marbles in the case.

"Uh, guys? We don't have 15."

"**WHAT?**" the others yelled in surprise.

"We don't have 15," Mike repeated.

Suddenly, the cavern began to shake, as if there was an earthquake going on beneath the foursome's feet. The pedestal crumbled before their eyes, shattering the marbles as it did. Rocks and stalactites then began to fall from the ceiling. Princess Zoey, Brick, and Cameron spun around and bolted back for the entrance. Before they could get there, though, rocks fell into their path, blocking the only exit.

"**WE'RE GONNA DIE!**" screamed Cameron.

"Nonsense," Mike said, in a calm tone. "We'll get out of here!"

He looked up towards the ceiling, and saw the sharp end of a stalactite plummeting to his head.

"Uh oh."

**SPLAT!**

The screen faded to black. The credits then rolled across the screen. After giving 30 seconds to honor everyone who worked on the story, a voice filled the air.

_[*Dawn*_

_End._

_Bad End.]_

_[*Izzy*_

_You guys suck at this game!]_

_[*Dawn*_

_Izzy!]_

_[*Izzy*_

_Well, they do!]_

* * *

**Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Story Written by Freedom Fighter**

And now, the finale! Be prepared for the unexpected!

**Note: **This is the second episode that was uploaded this week! Please make sure you go back and read the previous chapter before starting on this one! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.

**-  
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!  
Episode 13 [39]: Manitoba Time! (12.17.12)  
-**

Following a hard reset to the previous save point...

[Where should we go?

Choose: Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot / Somewhere else

Somewhere else.]

"I have a feeling that we don't have all the Spirit Marbles we need yet," Mike thought aloud.

Princess Zoey pulled out her map, and all of the locations that they had been to appeared on it.

"Okay, where to?"

After looking at their various options, Mike chose a destination...

* * *

Before they knew it, the party had returned to the town of Quasar. Mike led a search of the townspeople, going around and around until they found who they were looking for.

"Huzzah!" greeted Mike.

They found themselves reuniting with Staci and Silent B.

"I knew you'd be back!" said Staci, with a snicker.

"Wow, really?"

"No. But it would be a hoot if I did, right?"

Princess Zoey stepped into the conversation.

"Do you still have Sadie on you? We really, really need her!"

Staci gasped with hope. "Just as much you need me?"

"Don't push your luck," deadpanned Zoey.

"What do you want for her?" asked Mike.

Before Staci could reply, B stepped forward. And that gave Mike an idea.

"I'll be right back!"

The group left.

* * *

After going to get something, the gang returned to talk to Staci and B once more.

"What do you want for her?" asked Mike.

Before Staci could reply, B stepped forward. And that gave Mike an idea. He pulled out a sandwich he had just bought from the local deli. B took it without question, and bit into the sandwich. After chewing the portion down, he gave Staci a nod of approval.

"You've got yourself a deal!"

Staci pulled out Sadie's Spirit Marble and handed it to Princess Zoey.

"Thank you very much!"

_[Party received Marble 15 - Sadie!]_

With that taken care of, Zoey was ready to get back on the road. But first, Mike had something else to talk to B about.

"I know it's been awhile, B, but how are my stocks doing?"

B looked at Mike's portfolio, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his checkbook. He scribbled an amount on the check, tore it out of the book, and kindly handed it to him. Mike could not believe what number was on it.

"This can't be right! Wait, you haven't taken out your commission, have you? What is it, 20 percent? 30?"

"It's 25," Staci answered for him. "And he always takes out the commission before writing the check."

"So this is **POST**?"

B nodded. Before anyone else could see the check, Mike reached for Zoey's arm and pulled her towards him.

"First stop, the bank! Second stop, the Emporium, to buy you the best armor money can buy!"

* * *

One hour later, the gang was in the Pepper Flats, where the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot was located.

"**THIS** is the best armor money can buy?" groaned Zoey.

Zoey did not seem pleased to be dressed as Ahsoka Tano from 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars.' Furthering her unhappiness was the fact that the light saber attached to her belt was a fake.

"It's corporate synergy!" explained Mike. "Besides, it was that, or the Princess Leia bikini!"

Zoey had a quick change of heart.

"On second thought, I'll live with this."

"At least someone's happy..." remarked Cameron.

Mike glanced back at Cameron and Brick, who were dressed like Rigby and Mordecai from 'Regular Show.'

"How come you're not dressed up in the best armor, sir?" questioned Brick.

Mike grinned as he pointed at his shirt. "'Cause I already am!"

He pointed at his black T-shirt, which had a large 'Hello! I'm awesome!' nametag on it.

"I also didn't know you were into wrestling, sir?"

"What's wrestling? **I JUST THINK I'M AWESOME! **It even came with a free treat!"

Mike pulled out a white jelly bean, which he devoured without hesitation. Zoey shrugged her shoulders, not even mounting an effort to stop him.

"Why even try? He's still one alternate personality short of a full house."

* * *

They soon entered the Caverns of Pepper Flats. They knew they were racing against time to get to the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot; they just did not know how much time they had left.

_[You're getting close. It should be in the next room.]_

"We're getting close," Mike told the others. "It should be in the next room."

_[Hey!]_

"Don't hey us! You're the one who didn't answer us last episode when Zoey tried to reach you!"

_[Fair enough. But still, that wasn't nice!]_

Before they could reach the final passageway before the room that the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot was in, they heard a loud roar behind them. They spun around and were shocked to see a green-haired, orange-skinned monster staring them down.

"**GROAAAAAR!**" she yelled.

Zoey gasped. "I recognize that voice! It's..."

_[That's Dakota!]_

Zoey frowned as she looked up at the skies. "Finishing each other's sentences is only cute when it's between a boy and a girl, Dawn!"

"You're still going on about Dawn?" queried a dark, mysterious voice. "Dawn was so yesterday!"

Stepping into the chamber behind Dakota, or rather, Dakotazoid, was none other than Scott.

"Hello, agents of suckitude!"

"Scott!" Mike shouted. "I thought you would've given up after we freed Dawn from your evil clutches!"

"Hardly. Besides, considering I have Dakotazoid, a substantial upgrade from Dawn... it was an acceptable loss."

_[Ooh! You're lucky I don't have a mean bone in my body, because, because... your aura reeks of shame and dishonor, and I'd gladly put my foot up your...]_

Scott shook his head. "Dawn, Dawn, Dawn. I won't punish you for leaving, as long as you reveal where your pretty little head is hiding and come back to my side.

"Never in a million years!" shouted Zoey, vouching for her friend.

"Ah, so by speaking up, you're volunteering to take her place, Zoey? Nice outfit, by the way... but you'll probably look better with it off."

"Don't you talk about Zoey like that!" Mike jumped in. "Zoey's a sweet, wonderful girl that we selfishly dragged into this war, along with her planet! Whatever history you had with her, forget it, 'cause I'm not letting you take her! Dead or alive!"

"Mike!" cooed Zoey. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about me!"

Mike grinned, ready to see the princess fall head-over-heels into his arms. But something funny happened as he spun around...

"I'm ready to do the bouncity-bounce like the 'roos do, mate, but first, we got us some varmints to send to the Outback, if you catch my drift!"

Zoey was confused. "No, Mike, I'm afraid I don't. Of course, you're not Mike now, you're..."

"...Manitoba Smith," he answered in an Australian accent, as he put on a fedora.

"Ugh, **ENOUGH!**" grumbled Scott. "Time for the battle to end all battles!"

Dakotazoid stepped forward, roaring her approval to go into battle.

* * *

The battle began with Dakotazoid rushing forward, using her sharp claws to slash Cameron. He took heavy damage because of the hit, as a '45' appeared above his head.

"Ugh," he grunted. "So... weak..."

_[Heliosomosamama]_

Zoey unleashed her most powerful healing spell for the first time, using her powers to completely restore everyone's life points to the max.

"Thanks, Sheila!" Manitoba said afterwards.

He used his first turn to use a Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 08, ready to summon!  
Tyler, the Jock! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"**ALRIGHT!**I made the cut!"

Excited to battle, Tyler went to work.

_[Tyler's Attacks... Number 1! Hurry Up!]_

Tyler cast a spell on Manitoba, which increased his speed temporarily. After giving Manitoba his power-up, Tyler left the battlefield.

Next up was Brick...

"This is for all the marbles!" Brick exclaimed, unintentionally punning in the process.

He, too, used a Spirit Marble.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 06, ready to summon!  
Heather, the Queen Bee! She is a spirit! Do not die!]_

"About time!" grumbled Heather. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment? How much I've deserved this moment? Obviously, you don't, or you would've called me for a long time ago!"

Despite Heather's attitude, Brick issued her an order.

_[Heather's Attacks... Number 1! L-O-S-E-R!]_

Heather turned to Dakotazoid and started insulting her.

"Hey, you! Freak! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're such a loser! L-O-S-E-R! Why don't you crawl back into the ugly hole you came out of?"

Dakotazoid roared back in anger.

_[Dakotazoid's attack went up.  
Dakotazoid's defense went up.  
Dakotazoid may be confused.]_

Heather stuck out her tongue at Dakotazoid, then took a spot in front of Brick, as a shield of sorts.

"Odd," Brick said, "but I'll take it, I guess?"

Cameron smiled. "My turn!"

He... you guessed it...

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 13, ready to summon!  
Leshawna, the Sister with 'Tude! She is a spirit! Show some respect, y'all!]_

Leshawna emerged from the smoke, ready to battle.

"Nobody disrespects Leshawna, nuh uh, not in this house!"

"I know just what to do!" Cameron said aloud.

_[Leshawna's Attacks... Number 1! The Smack Heard 'Round the World!]_

Leshawna ran over to Dakotazoid and, with all her might, she gave the monster a very, very hard slap across the face. Dakotazoid took '42' points of damage as a result.

"That's right! Don't mess with Leshawna, or else you get sent crying home with your tail between your legs!"

Manitoba was ready to step in, but Leshawna decided to take another turn of her own volition after seeing Heather hanging about.

"**HEATHER! **Why's your scrawny ass here? Get out!"

"**WHAT? **I was here first, lard butt!"

"**THAT'S IT! LESHAWNA'S GONNA GIVE YOU A WHOOPIN'!**"

_[Leshawna's Attacks... Number 2! Spinning Top of Doom!]_

Leshawna grabbed Heather by the arm, spun her around and around and around, and then finally, after five revolutions, let go of her. Heather went spinning across the cavern and right into Dakotazoid. The latter was knocked to the ground, taking a whopping '77' points of damage, while the former disappeared shortly after impact.

"That was not nice!" barked Dakotazoid, as she got back up. "**YOU WILL PAY!**"

Leshawna left the battlefield of her own accord, allowing Manitoba to take his expedient turn.

"Alright, then! Manitoba Time!"

Manitoba rushed up to Dakotazoid. He pulled out his laser rifle, apparently intending to shoot her at point-blank range. But, at the very last instant, he spun it around and instead hit her with the butt of his weapon. Dakotazoid stumbled backwards as she was hit with a '64' point blow.

_[Dakotazoid is confused.]_

Dakotazoid make a beeline for Zoey, wanting to slice her to pieces. Before she could reach her, though, she tripped on her own two feet and fell to the ground, hitting the cavern floor face-first. A '13' materialized over her head.

An enraged Scott suddenly stepped in.

"**WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? FINISH THEM SO WE CAN TAKE ALL OF THEIR SPIRIT MARBLES!**"

Dakotazoid got up, and then nodded in compliance. She was trying to decide who to attack when, all of a sudden...

"**DAKOTA!**"

Everyone turned back towards the entrance. Standing there was Sam, holding a robotic Dakota head.

"I should've figured the Dakota I was hanging with wasn't the real one!"

"Sam? Oh, Sam, it's you!"

The two lovebirds ran towards each other in delight, with arms stretched wide open. Once they got to each other, they hugged in a loving embrace.

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?**" Scott yelled. "**STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THAT FATSO AND GET RID OF THE PRINCESS AND THOSE HATCHET ARMY GOONS!**"

Dakotazoid and Sam turned towards Scott, with angry, fiery glares on their faces.

"Go..."

Mike and the others heard Sam, but they were not sure if whom he was talking to. Seeing that, he turned to look at them.

"**GO! NOW!**"

Mike nodded, and the group headed for the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot.

"**WAIT! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!**"

Scott attempted to chase after them, but Sam and Dakotazoid blocked his path. Dakotazoid growled at Scott, wanting to take her anger out on him. But Sam raised an arm to stop her.

"No. Allow me. I'm the weaker one. Besides, if I can't stop him..."

She put a hand on his shoulder in understanding. She then stepped back to block the path. Sam got out the last Spirit Marble he had on him and threw it out.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 07, ready to summon!  
Duncan, the Delinquent! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Scott smirked as he pulled out his final marble, and summoned the spirit within.

_[Accessing classical archives! Number 04, ready to summon!  
Geoff, the Funniest Guy Around! He is a spirit! Do not die!]_

Duncan and Geoff appeared on their respective sides of the battlefield, and began staring each other down.

* * *

Mike led the way through the dark cavern, holding up a lit torch. Princess Zoey and Cameron followed close behind, while Brick brought up the rear. Eventually, the small passageway they were in opened up into a large, rock-walled room. And positioned in the exact center of the chamber was...

"The Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot!" exclaimed Mike.

They ran over to strange formation, which consisted of a marble pedestal inside an old Roman-style chariot. The pedestal itself had eight marble-sized recesses in it, in four rows of two. Mike handed the torch to Zoey and then reached into his pack to pull out their carrying case of Spirit Marbles, which was nearly full. As he did that, Cameron pulled out the scroll, which now had the translated words transcribed on it.

"Okay," he said. "'The Dumb Princess, the Geek, the Sweet Girl's Friend, the Surfer Girl, the Cool Guy, the Wannabe, the Party Guy and the Arch Villain. These are the keys to the revival of the lost ones. Place them in the recessed indentations at the Pedestal of the Formidable Chariot, and all we be saved.'"

Mike started placing marbles into the pedestal. From left to right, he inserted the marbles containing Lindsay, Cody, Sadie, and Bridgette in the top row, and the ones that had Trent, Beth, Owen, and Alejandro in the bottom row. He then stepped back and waited for something to happen.

Suddenly, the pedestal began to glow orange. Then, without warning, a blinding beam of white light exploded from it, blinding everyone in the cavern...

* * *

When the light finally subsided, Mike's eyes darted around the room, looking to see if anything had changed.

"Wha-what happened?"

His gaze darted towards the pedestal. All of the marbles were gone. He then looked at the case. It was also completely empty.

"Where did they all go?"

Suddenly, they heard someone applauding behind them. They expected to see Scott, predicting he had made quick work of Sam and Dakotazoid. But instead...

"Commander McLean! And... Commander Hatchet?"

Mike was surprised to see both of them at the same time. And side by side. And not killing each other.

"Well done," Chris said, as he ceased his applauding. "Looks like the war's over, boys! We got what we came for!"

Chef smiled. "Yep. And it only took a few maggots and an airheaded princess to bring peace. Heh heh."

"What are you talking about?" asked Zoey. "What's going on?"

"Well, you see," Chris explained, "this war we've been having? All about finding these marbles. Because in them are the spirits of the classic 'Total Drama' cast!"

"We kinda know that!" Mike exclaimed. "Get to the point!"

"Long story short... let's just say you just helped resign the entire cast to a lifetime contract. Mwa ha... mwa ha ha... **MWA HA HA HA HA HA!**"

* * *

In the city referred to as Toronto...

Cody reappeared right next to the open front door of Gwen's house. He was dressing in his wedding tuxedo.

"Wait, I'm back? What... **WHAT AM I DOING BACK?**"

He raised his arms to the sky and screamed in anguish.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**"

_[*Dawn*_

_End._

_Good... End?]_

**Author's Notes:**  
And so, "That's the Spirit!" has come to an end. But you're probably asking, wait, what? What's with the cliffhanger ending? That can't be it! There must be more, right? Yes, yes there is. There are so many questions to be answered, one that has to wait until the entirety of the cast is back in the flesh.

But all I can say for now is... "Virtual Reality Final" and Summer 2013. See you... then!


End file.
